ByVAL

ByVal is a modifier used in function parameters to specify that the parameters is passed by value (that is, a copy of the value is passed to the FUNCTION or SUB).

Syntax

It’s used in function parameter declaration as in this example:

FUNCTION plusOne(ByVal a As Ubyte) As UByte
  LET a = a + 1
  RETURN a
END FUNCTION

LET a = 0
PRINT plusOne(a): REM prints 1
PRINT a: REM prints 0; original value of A is preserved

Here the variable a is being modified within the function, but the original value is preserved upon return. Except for arrays, when ByREF or ByVal is not specified in FUNCTION or SUB parameters, ByVal will be used by default. On the other hand, if the parameter is an array, and no access is specified, it’s supposed to be ByREF (arrays cannot be passed by value).