Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!apple.com!rmh
From: rmh@apple.com (Rick Holzgrafe)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: 32 K limit on field size in HC 1.2 and 2.0
Message-ID: <10533@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 1 Oct 90 22:19:47 GMT
References: <7374@umd5.umd.edu>
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 30

In article <7374@umd5.umd.edu> pevans@umd5.umd.edu (Peter Evans) writes:
> I have just come face-to-face with the 32K (or there about) limit
> on the amount of material that can be stored in a field.  The
> application is that I am reading raw data from a text file into a
> field and then doing various data analysis procedures on this.
> 
> Does anyone know of any utilities to get around this limitation

You can store data in a variable; they have no hard-and-fast limitation on 
length.

Fields have two big advantages over variables: they can be seen (and 
edited) by the user, and they are non-volatile (the data is still there if 
you quit HyperCard and resume later).

Variables have two big advantages over fields: there's no size limit, and 
they are *much* faster to manipulate in HyperTalk.

You could keep your data in a variable while you're processing it, and in 
a file when you're not. That gives you speed, size, and permanence with 
relatively little pain.

Hope this helps.

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Rick Holzgrafe              |    {sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual}!apple!rmh
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