Specify Workspace Available

R←2002⌶Y

This function is identical to the system function ⎕WA except that it provides the means to specify the amount of memory 1 that is committed for the workspace rather than have it assigned by the internal algorithm. Committed memory is memory that is allocated to a specific process and thereby reduces the amount of memory available for other applications. See also Workspace Management.

Like ⎕WA, 2002⌶ compacts the workspace so that it occupies the minimum number of bytes possible, adds an extra amount, and then de-commits all the remaining memory that it is currently using, allowing it to be allocated by the operating system for use by other applications.

The argument Y is an integer which specifies the size, in bytes, of this extra amount.

The purpose of the extra amount is to reduce the likelihood that APL will immediately have to ask the operating system to re-commit memory that it has just de-committed, something that would have a deleterious effect on performance. At the same time, if the extra amount were to be excessively large, APL could starve other applications of memory which itself could reduce the effective performance of the system. Whereas ⎕WA calculates the size of the extra amount using a simple internal algorithm, 2002⌶ uses a value specified by the programmer.

R is an integer which reports the size in bytes of the memory committed for the workspace, and is the sum of the minimum amount required by the workspace itself and the argument Y.

If the size of the committed workspace would be smaller than the minimum value (specified by 2000⌶) or larger than the maximum value (which defaults to MAXWS), a DOMAIN ERROR is signalled.