Radio Shack TRS-80 User Manual page 125

Chapter 21
Numeric
Arrays
We know
that
we
have
the
26
letters
of the alphabet
available to use
as variables.
We've
also discovered that very
few
of
our programs have
required
anywhere
near
that
many
variables.
There
are times,
however, when we
wish to have more
variables available
—
some-
times hundreds or even thousands of them,
to use as
names
for
many
different pieces
of
data
we
are storing
and want
to "retrieve"
easily.
The way
out of
this
little
dilemma
is
with an
array.
Array
is
just another
word
for "lineup",
"arrangement"
or "series of things". Let's say we're talking about
a collection, arrangement
or lineup (array) of a
number
of autos,
all
of
which
have
different
license plates (address
numbers).
To
be specific,
we
have 10
cars
lined
up, as in
an
array.
They
are
all
the same except
for
their
engine
size
—
and each
has a different license plate
number.
Let's say the
license plate
numbers
are
from
1 to 10,
and
we want
to use the
Computer
to quickly
spit out the engine
size
when we
identify
a car
by
license
number.
This might not seem
like a real
heavyweight
problem
—
but,
as
before,
we
discover the
full
potential of
these things
by
learning
them
little
steps at a time.
Numeric
Amy?
.
must be some kind of new
Let's
assume the
license
number and
engine
sizes are as follows:
LICENSE #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
ENGINE
(cubic inches)
300
200
500
300
200
300
400
400
300
500
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