Code Limitations

This section describes the current Iptscrae implementation limits. No matter how cleverly you assign variable names and swap graphic elements, there are some data handling boundaries hard-coded into the software. In general, The Palace Viewer version of Iptscrae is limited only by the memory available in the browser, so these limits only apply to The Palace User Software clients for Windows and Macintosh. Note that client and server limites may override those noted below.

• The maximum length of a string generated by GREPSUB is 16384 bytes.

• The maximum length of a compiled GREPSTR regular expression is 1024 bytes.

• The maximum length of a compound string (one created by concatenation or SUBSTRING) is limited only by client storage.

• The maximum number of variables in a single handler is 64.

• The maximum number of nested AtomLists (IF, WHILE, EXEC etc.) is 64.

• The maximum number of alarms that can be queued at one time is 64.

• The maximum number of data items that can be held on the stack is 256.

• The range of spot states is -32768 to 32767.

• The maximum number of array elements is 256.

• The maximum number of global variables is limited only by client storage.

Of all the above limitations, the one you'll really want to look out for is the stack limit -- if more than 256 data items get placed on the stack, some of them will "fall off," becoming lost forever. In general, however, these code limitations really shouldn't be too much of a problem for you -- unless the goal is to do truly complex, site-wide programming (like tracking the states of multiple users and objects from room to room, for instance). Although they require great determination and programming fluency, such tasks are indeed possible in Iptscrae -- and are left as exercises for the reader.