A program object which must precede declaration of a user defined function (FN) or procedure (PROC). DEF must be used at the start of a program line.
If DEF is encountered during execution, the rest of the line is ignored. As a consequence, single line definitions can be put anywhere in the program.
Multi-line definitions must not be executed. The safest place to put multi-line definitions is at the end of the main program after the END statement.
There is no speed advantage to be gained by placing function or procedure definitions at the start of the program.
DEF FNMEAN ... DEF PROCJIM ...
In order to make the text more readable (always a good thing) the function or procedure name may start with an underline.
DEF FN_mean ... DEF PROC_Jim$ ...
Function and procedure names may end with a '$'. This is not compulsory for functions which return strings.
A procedure definition is terminated by the statement ENDPROC.
A function definition is terminated by a statement which starts with an equals (=) sign. The function returns the value of the expression to the right of the equals sign.
For examples of function and procedure declarations, see FN and PROC. For a general explanation of functions and procedures, refer to the Procedures and Functions sub-section.
Syntax
- DEF PROC<name>[(<s-var>|<n-var>{,<s-var>|<n-var>})]
- DEF FN<name>[(<s-var>|<n-var>{,<s-var>|<n-var>})]