scalar

#scalar

##Syntax A scalarType is one of:

(a) standardType % int, real, boolean or string (b) enumeratedType (c) subrangeType (d) pointerType (e) char (f) intn (g) natn (h) realn (i) namedType % Must name one of the above types

##Description Scalar types are sometimes called simple or primitive types. The non-scalar types are strings, sets, arrays, records, unions and in OOT char(n). They are defined using scalar types. Scalar types are passed by value to parameters, while non-scalars are passed by reference (by passing an implicit pointer to the non-scalar value).

##Description In current Turing implementations scalar types are directly represented in 1, 2, 4 or 8 bytes in a computer's memory. This implies that they can be efficiently passed by value.