AMT Datasouth PAL User Manual
Page 31

25
==
==
Description
Writes the PAL language format of any object to %stdout.
Usage
Any
==
Any
Any object type. Object which interpreter will write to %stdout.
Comments
If the stack contains a composite object, the interpreter will also write all objects which comprise
the composite object. Writing of composite objects will continue through all nesting levels.
Some objects which can reside in memory do not have corresponding PAL language represen-
tations. For example, the programmer cannot include intrinsic operator objects and file objects
directly within PAL source code.
Initially, intrinsic operator objects only exist within the system dictionary. The programmer ac-
cesses these intrinsic operator objects by referencing them using the key names associated with
them in the system dictionary. File objects only result from the opening of a file.
In cases where a object does not have a PAL language representation, the interpreter writes the
object using two hyphens ("--") before and after a text description of the object. For intrinsic
operator objects, the interpreter uses the same text as the name associated with the object in the
system dictionary. For example, the system dictionary contains the literal name add associated
with the intrinsic operator object for the add operation. Therefore, the interpreter writes the in-
trinsic operator object for the add operation as "
--add--".
The interpreter provides the == operator primarily for debugging purposes. However, the operator
can also prove useful for uploading data to a host computer provided the host system programs can
accept the data in PAL format.