Symbols

In VectorScript, symbols are the atomic, or smallest meaningful, elements of the language. VectorScript source code is comprised of a succession of these symbols, which form the instructions in the script that tell VectorWorks what actions to perform. Another term for symbols is tokens. Several rules govern how symbols are defined:

Each symbol is written as a series of ASCII characters, and symbols must conform to the following rules:

Each symbol must be unbroken; symbols cannot occur inside of other symbols.

Symbols must be comprised of 8-bit ASCII characters (or, more technically, the ISO-8859-1 character set).

Symbols can have a wide variety of meanings and uses in VectorScript. They can, among other uses, represent data storage locations, indicate mathematical operations to be performed, or control script execution.

Symbols are separated by other characters known as delimiters. Delimiters separate symbols and identify them as discrete items; symbols and delimiters must alternate.