alan@mtxinu.UUCP (Alan Tobey) (04/29/88)
I hadn't seen any description of whether or not multidimensional
arrays are possible in HyperCard. After trying a quick test, I've found
they're not only possible but easy to implement:
A one-dimensional array uses the familiar "item" construction usually
used in chunking expressions, where an item is any string of text
between commas. The command
put "foo" into item 5 of MyArrayVariable
creates a variable of the form ,,,,,foo, -- hypercard will pad out
empty items in the array if necessary, so no initializing is needed.
This easily extends to at least three dimensions. For a quick demo,
create a scrolling card field called "temp" and use this button script:
on mouseUp
repeat with x = 1 to 10
repeat with y = 1 to 5
repeat with z = 1 to 3
put x & "." & y & "." & z into item z of item y of item x of array
put item z of item y of item x of array & return after card field "temp"
end repeat
end repeat
end repeat
end mouseUp
Haven't tried this in more than three dimensions, since I could never think
of a use for a four-dimensional array that I could comprehend!