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Chapter 2.
ICL
Introduction
ICL scripts can be written in any text editor. Save the script as a text file, then
download through an ICL-compatible imaging package.
This chapter includes:
• Script syntax
• Function descriptions
• Example scripts
Rules of Syntax
The basic rules of syntax are:
• Carriage returns, line feeds, form feeds, tabs, spaces, and comments are
treated as generic whitespace used to separate language elements. This
convention increases compatibility between operating systems and
helps with editors that have different end-of-line conditions and tab
expansions.
• There is no main program, subroutines, jumps, calls, conditional
statements, or branching.
• Braces are not allowed.
• All numeric values must be typed exactly. Numeric and parenthetical
expressions are illegal.
Whitespace
Whitespace includes a single occurrence or any combination of the following:
space, carriage return, line feed, form feed, tab, and unnested comment
(characters). Whitespace is not required. Once the /* characters are seen, you
may insert any desired comments until the closing */ appears. However, you
cannot nest comments. The first */ ends the comment. A second /* used before
the ending */has no effect, while an additional */ will generate an error.
Parameters /
Arguments
Approximately half of the script functions have no parameters. The function
must be followed by opening and closing parentheses with no parameters inside
the parentheses. Whitespace inside the parentheses is acceptable. Any of the
following examples are legal:
loop_end( );
loop_end( );
loop_end( );
loop_end( /* comments count as whitespace */ );
loop_end(
);
Parameters must be positive integers of normal numeric digits (0...9). None of
the following symbols are acceptable:
+ - * / . , ^ % ( )