Keywords: pame

# Standard modes

Many of the modes available in the standard prelude are built from the standard modes of the language which are all defined in the Revised Report.

`VOID`
  This mode has one value: `EMPTY`. It is mainly used as the yield of routines and in unions.
`BOOL`
  This mode has two values, namely `TRUE` and `FALSE`.
`INT`
  This is the basic arithmetic mode. Various precisions are available:-
  1. `LONG INT` 64-bit integer
  2. `INT` 32-bit integer
  3. `SHORT INT` 16-bit integer
  4. `SHORT SHORT INT` 8-bit integer
`REAL`
  This mode is used mainly for approximate calculations although exact values can be manipulated provided that the number of significant digits does not exceed the precision of the mantissa (see section 13.2.1). The following precisions are available:-
  1. `REAL` 64-bit real
  2. `SHORT REAL` 32-bit real
`COMPL`
  Strictly speaking, this is not a fundamental mode because it is regarded as a structure with two fields:-

         MODE COMPL = STRUCT(REAL re,im)

  However, the widening coercion will convert a `REAL` value into a `COMPL` value and `COMPL` values are not straightened (see section 13.7.6). Like `REAL`s, the following precisions are available:-
  1. `COMPL` 128-bit
  2. `SHORT COMPL` 64-bit
`CHAR`
  This mode is used for most character operations. See section 13.2.2 for further details.
`BITS`
  This mode is equivalent to a computer word regarded as a group of bits (binary digits) numbered 1 to `bits width` (see section 13.2.1). Various precisions are available:-
  1. `LONG BITS` 64-bit
  2. `BITS` 32-bit
  3. `SHORT BITS` 16-bit
  4. `SHORT SHORT BITS` 8-bit
`BYTES`
  The Revised Report describes the mode, but the a68toc compiler does not implement it.
`STRING`
  This mode is defined as

         MODE STRING = FLEX[1:0]CHAR

  and is provided with a shorthand construct for denotations of such values (see section 3.1).