Introduction

A dynamic variable is allocated during program execution. In contrast, a global, module, or local variable is allocated when the block containing its declaration is activated.

Table 6-1 “Dynamic versus Static Variables ” shows the differences between dynamic and static variables.

Table 6-1 Dynamic versus Static Variables

	Dynamic Variable	Global or Module Variable	Local Variable
Declared?	No	Yes	Yes
Referenced by	Pointer (which is declared).	Name	Name
Allocated	During execution, with the function `new`.	Before compilation unit executes.	Upon entering procedure or function that declares it.
Stored on the	Heap	Static area	Stack
Deallocated	During execution, with the procedure `dispose` or `release`.	After program has executed.	After exiting the procedure or function that declares it.

This chapter explains:

Pointer types peculiar to HP Pascal (globalanyptr, anyptr, and localanyptr).
HP Pascal procedures new and dispose, which allocate and deallocate dynamic variables.
HP Pascal procedures mark and release, which allow an HP Pascal program to deallocate a region of the heap that it no longer needs.
Intrinsic procedures p_getheap and p_rtnheap, which allow a program written in any language that runs on the operating system to allocate and deallocate a region of the HP Pascal heap.

Introduction

Technical documentation

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