The different integer types designate their width in bits. They are not declared as signed or unsigned. Instead their value is the result of either signed or unsigned operations.

byte   -  8 bits             word - 32 bits
parcel - 16 bits             cell - 64 bits

Integer constants can be decimal, hexadecimal, octal, or binary. The latter three formats respectively use prefixes "#", "8#", and "2#". They can also have a lead plus or minus sign or a tilde which denotes a logical complement. Underscores can be used within constants for formatting.

44   -3   ~#F   2#1001_0011   8#555

Floating Point types are either signed single or double precision.

single - 32 bits             double - 64 bits

Floating point constants can be written as decimal or hexadecimal values. A pound sign prefix denotes a hexadecimal value. A lead plus or minus sign may also be used. They can also be written in scientific notation.

3.14159   1e-10    #1.234p3

Strings consist of a sequence of 8 bit characters and have variable lengths. Memory for strings is allocated as needed and is automatically managed. The null character (value zero) may be included in a string. The internal String encoding was devised to optimize performance. The Gilda Run Time system includes a dedicated high performance memory manager for strings.

String constants can be enclosed in single or double quotes. An integer value can also be set to a single quoted character.

"alpha"   'c'   ""   "don't"

Numeric variables can be initialized to a given value or else they default to zero. You can use a question mark to denote an unknown value; in which case the memory will be unitinitialized. This intended for use in performance sensitive procedures, particularly when using arrays. Strings are always initialized and default to an empty string.

This is an example of various primitive type declarations. It declares variables that are local to a method.

local I = 1      word,          &Initialized to one.
      D          double,        &Initialized to zero.
      S          string,        &Initialized to an empty string.
      T = "!"    string,        &Initialized to an exclamation point.
      A[99] = ?  parcel         :Uninitialized array of 16 bit values.