Vector Basic Interpreter Basic 80 Reference Manual - page 135
Format 1:
Returns the address of the first byte
of
data
identified
with
name>. A value must be assigned to prior to execution of VARPTR. Otherwise an "Illegal function call" error results. Any type variable name may be used (numeric, string, array), and the address returned will be an integer in the range 32767 to -32768. If a negative address is returned, add it to 65536 to obtain the actual address. VARPTR is usually used to obtain the.address of a variable or array so it may be passed to an assembly language subroutine. A function call of the form VARPTR(A(O» is usually specified when passing an array, so that the lowest-addressed element of the array is returned. All simple variables should be assigned before calling VARPTR for an array, because the addresses of the arrays change whenever a new simple variable is assigned. Format 2: Returns the starting address of the disk I/O buffer assigned to In Standalone Dis~ BASIC, VARPTR(i returns the first byte of the file block. See Appendix H.