Keywords: pame

Subsections

- Exercises

# Quaternaries

Quaternaries are assignments, routine denotations, identity relations and `SKIP`. Of the four, the assignment is the most common. An assignment consists of three parts. The left-hand side must be a tertiary. It is usually an applied identifier or, less commonly, an enclosed clause. Its value must be a name. Its context is soft, so no dereferencing is allowed unless a cast is used (see the next chapter), but deproceduring is allowed. The second part is the assignment token. The right-hand side (the third part) can be any quaternary (including, of course, another assignment). Its context is strong so any coercion is permitted. The mode of its value must contain one less `REF` than the mode of the left-hand side.

The right-hand side of an assignment is, most commonly, a formula which is a tertiary (all tertiaries are quaternaries, but not vice-versa). The left-hand side can also be a formula provided that the value yielded is a name (which is the case with the assigning operators--see section 5.1.2). If an assignment is to be used as a primary, a secondary or a tertiary, then it must be enclosed in parentheses(or `BEGIN` and `END`). The value of an assignment is the value of the left-hand side: that is, it is a name. Assignments were discussed in chapter 5.

Routine denotations were discussed in chapter 6.

`SKIP` yields an undefined value of any mode and can only occur in a strong context. It is particularly useful in the following case. Consider the procedure

       PROC p=(REAL a,b)REAL:
       IF b=0
       THEN print(("Division by zero",newline)):
          stop;  SKIP
       ELSE a/b
       FI

Because the yield has mode `REAL`, and the `ELSE` part of the conditional clause yields a value of mode `REAL`, by the principle of balancing (see below) the `THEN` part also must yield a value of mode `REAL`. Now the construct `stop` yields a value of mode `VOID` which cannot be coerced to `REAL` in any context. If the procedure is going to compile successfully, the `THEN` part must yield `REAL` (or, at least, a value which can be coerced to `REAL` in the context of the body of the procedure which is strong) even though the value yielded will never be used (because the `stop` will terminate the program). The `SKIP` will yield an undefined value of mode `REAL`. Although `SKIP` must occur in a strong context, it cannot be coerced.

Another use for `SKIP` is in row- or structure-displays where not all the units are known at the time of a declaration. For example:

       [3]INT ii:=(4,?,5)

Before the multiple `ii` is used, the second element should be given a value. If no such value is assigned, and you try to print the value of `ii[2]` the a68toc compiler will generate code which will print whatever value was there at the time the multiple was generated, which may well be rubbish.

The identity relation is discussed in the next chapter, but its grammar has important consequences. The identity relation consists of two tertiaries separated by an identity relator (one of `:=:` or `:/=:`). Since a formula is a tertiary, it can safely be included in an identity relation. For example, given the declarations

       INT x:=3, y:=1;
       PROC x or y = (REAL r)REF INT: (r<0.5|x|y)

the identity relation

       x or y(random) :=: x

is legal. However, if you want to include an identity relation in a formula then you must surround it with parentheses to make it into a tertiary, as in

       IF (x or y(random) :=: x) AND x*y > 0
       THEN

Since one side of an identity relation is in a soft context while the other is in a strong context, only one side of an identity relation can be strongly-dereferenced. The soft side can be weakly-dereferenced which means that one `REF` will always be left on that side. Balancing applies to identity relations (see the discussion in section 11.6).

This completes the general discussion of units.

## Exercises

10.10
  What kind of units are each of the following: Ans
  (a)
    A cast.

  (b)
    An applied-identifier.

  (c)
    A selection.

  (d)
    A multiple.

  (e)
    A name.

  (f)
    A formula.

  (g)
    A loop clause.

  (h)
    An assignment.

  (i)
    A declaration.

  (j)
    A procedure denotation.

10.11
  Which units are to be found in each of the following: Ans
  (a)
    `3.5 * (a - 2 * x)`

  (b)
    `p OR q AND a = 4`

  (c)
    `sin(x)`

  (d)
    `a[3,2:4]`

  (e)
    `x:=(c<"e"|2.4|-y)`

  (f)
    `(i|x,y,z):=(p|2|-4)`

  (g)
    `PAR(x:=1.2,y:=3.6)`