Data Types

Under Construction

In calyxium there are 5 primitive data types

Int

This is an integer number (whole number) and is used to store numbers without decimals, it can be positive and negative. It ranges between LOWEST and HIGHEST. If you try to make it bigger or smaller than these ranges you will get unintended results.

For example 10 or -3000

To specify an int in code you can just type out the number.

Float

This is any number and is used to store numbers with decimals, it can be positive and negative. It ranges between LOWEST and HIGHEST. If you try to make it bigger or smaller than these ranges you will get unintended results. The term float refers to the fact that the decimal can "float" between positions. Its full name is Floating Point Number.

For example 10.009 or -3000.33

To specify a float in code you can add .0 to the end of the number.

One interesting property of floats is that the higher the number the less precise the number will be because there isn't enough room to store the digits after the decimal point.

Say a the max size of a float is 7 characters, when the numbers before the decimal are only 3 characters 200.457 you will have enough room for 3 more numbers, however if there are 5 characters 20000.1 you only have enough room for 1 number after the decimal making the number much less precise, and you can start to get artifacts in your computations. This is what causes graphical artifacts in games where the players position can become high enough to start allowing floating point precision problems.

String

This is a string (sequence) of chars and is used to store any word, phrase, paragraph you can think of! The term string comes from "stringing" a sequence of characters together. The longest string you can make is HIGHEST. Although some devices may not be able to display them, strings can hold any character you will come across; that is, if they are within the char size limit.

For example "Hello world!" or "جبن" or even "😎👍"

To specify a string in code you just surround anything you want to write with a " character

Byte

This is a single character and is want a string is composed of. Again, it can be any character you can think of. It can also be referred to as a char. The biggest character you can make is BYTES bytes. Once again, although some devices may not be able to display them, chars can be any character you will come across, as long as they are within the limit. If you try and put more than one character in a char you will get an error, so just make it a string if you are unsure.

For example 'ö' or 'ب' or even '😎'

To specify a byte in code you just surround a single character you want to write with a ' character

Bool

Short for boolean, this data type has 2 states true or false. Sort of like a yes or no.
By doing not my_boolean you can reverse a boolean. These are used to control the flow of a program. The name comes from English mathematician George Boole who developed Boolean algebra.
These are the least memory intensive only taking a single bit of storage.

To write a boolean simply write true or false.