$delarray()

Synopsis

$delarray(<array>)

Technical

Removes every item in a named array created with $setitem(), and removes the array itself from EPIC's array registry. This releases its stored strings and indexing data. Other named arrays retain their contents.

The first whitespace-separated argument is the array name; additional arguments are ignored. Array names are case-insensitive because lookup uppercases the name. Double quotes do not group the name, even with /xdebug dword enabled. These named arrays are separate from ordinary /assign variables and variable structures; deleting one does not delete similarly named variables.

Practical

Use this function to clean up a named array when a script no longer needs it. To remove individual items while retaining the rest, use $delitem(). After deletion, $setitem() can create a new array with the same name by setting item zero.

Returns

No diagnostic is emitted for a missing array. A second deletion of the same array returns -1 unless it has been recreated.

Examples

@ result = setitem(temporary_names 0 Alice)
@ result = delarray(temporary_names)

The deletion returns 0. A subsequent $delarray(temporary_names) returns -1.

Source

Registered in source/functions.c. Parsing, array-name lookup, and removal are implemented in source/array.c.