The FreeM Manual

THE OFFICIAL MANUAL OF FREEM

Version 0.65.1-rc1

Serena Willis

This manual is for FreeM, (version 0.65.1-rc1), which is a free software implementation of the M programming language.

Print-optimized versions of this book are typeset in Computer Modern by the author using the GNU Texinfo tools.

Copyright © 2014-2025 Coherent Logic Development LLC

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.

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The FreeM Manual

This is the official manual for the FreeM programming language.

Introduction   About the FreeM Project, its history, and its goals.
1 Document Conventions   Conventions used in this manual.
2 A Note on Standards   FreeM positioning regarding the M Development Committee.
3 FreeM Invocation   How to invoke FreeM from the command line.
4 The FreeM Environment Daemon   Managing shared resources in the FreeM environment.
5 The FreeM Direct-Mode Environment   Executing M programs interactively.
6 Debugging   The program development cycle of FreeM.
7 Program Development Cycle   How to create, edit, test, and run FreeM programs.
8 Directives   Per-Routine Language Directives.
9 Intrinsic Special Variables  
10 Intrinsic Functions  
11 OBJECT Methods   Methods for OBJECT variables.
12 STRING Methods   Methods for STRING variables.
13 Commands  
14 Structured System Variables  
15 Operators   FreeM Operators.
16 Routines   The units of M code in FreeM.
17 Types   FreeM data types.
18 Globals   FreeM persistent sparse arrays.
19 Concurrency Control   LOCKing and transaction processing.
20 Local Variables   In-memory variables.
21 Scoping   Scoping in FreeM.
22 Decision Constructs   IF, THEN, ELSE, $SELECT, and postconditionals.
23 Branch Constructs   Labels, GOTO, DO, and JOB.
24 Loop Constructs   The FOR loop.
25 Modular Programming   Extrinsic functions and subroutines.
26 Object-Oriented Programming   Classes and objects in FreeM.
27 Libraries   System and user libraries.
28 Sequential I/O   Processing sequential files in FreeM.
29 Network I/O   Handling network sockets in FreeM.
30 Extended Global References   Accessing globals in non-default namespaces.
31 Global Aliasing   Defining alternate names for globals.
32 Global Mappings   Mapping global names to non-default namespaces.
33 Asynchronous Event Handling   Handling asynchronous events in FreeM.
34 Global Triggers   Responding to global accesses in M code.
35 Synchronous Event Handling   Synchronous events in FreeM.
36 GUI Programming with MWAPI   Creating graphical interfaces in FreeM.
37 User-Defined Z Commands   Adding your own Z commands to FreeM.
38 User-Defined Z Functions   Adding your own Z functions to FreeM.
39 User-Defined SSVNs   Adding your own SSVNs to FreeM.
40 Language Dialects   Controlling FreeM standards compliance.
41 System Library Routines   FreeM built-in library of M routines.
42 Interrupt Handling   How FreeM handles interrupts.
43 Error Processing   How to handle errors in M program code.
44 FreeM Error Codes   Explanations of each FreeM error code.
45 System Configuration   Configuring your FreeM installation.
46 Accessing FreeM from C Programs   How to use the mlib interface.
Appendix A FreeM Administrator   The fmadm system manager tool.
Appendix B FreeM VIEW Commands and Functions   Getting and setting info about FreeM internals.
Appendix C Implementation Limits   FreeM limitations.
Appendix D US-ASCII Character Set   The US-ASCII character set.
Appendix E FreeM Project Coding Standards   How to write code for submission to the FreeM project.
Index   Complete index.
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