ϕ Labels

ϕLabels are place markers (used only locally within functions) that you place into your source code. They identify target locations for goto statements in ϕPPL as well as branches in ϕAsm. Labels are followed with a colon ‘:’ like they are in C. They are similar to ϕName identifiers but, instead of beginning with an alphabetic character, they begin with one of the ten symbols called Charms. These are easily entered into your source code documents using the Charm Keypad in ϕEdit. It is brought up by pressing Alt-O and then choosing option H. The Charm on the left side of the soft key can be entered either by clicking on the button or by pressing the main keyboard character to the symbol's right. The Charm Keypad is shown below:

Charms were inspired by the General Mills cereal called “Lucky Charms”. Other icon-like Unicode Characters were added to provide a total of ten. The Charms are shown on the key pad in their typical colors. The four familiar suites in a standard deck of playing cards make up the first four. These are Green Clover, Blue Diamond, Read Heart and Black Spade. Yellow is not included in the colors because it is difficult to read against a white background. Brown is used instead. I can imagine a Brown Moon coming up from behind the horizon when there is dust in the air. The Orange Star is next. There really are Orange Stars. Arcturus is an example. The Smily Face and Frowny Face come next (shown in Black). A Smily Face is often used to represent a positive outcome (success) while a Frowny Face is used to represent a negative outcome (failure). Rounding out the rest are the Purple Flower and the Gray Skull. Generally speaking, the Flower represents Creation while the Skull represents Destruction. Each of the eight ϕText colors are assigned to one Charm except for the two faces which share Black with the Spade. But you are free to assign any of the colors to any of the Charms as you want in your source code. These standard color assignments are just a convention.

Labels are not only fun but they are also practical. Using Charms instead of alphabetics at the beginning of Label names makes them easier to find. Their bold images, especially when combined with color, make them really stand out. ϕNames cannot begin with a numerical digit 0∼9. That makes their NSC codes available for use in labels. When a ϕLabel begins with one of these codes, then a Charm is associated with the digit's code. Any number of alphanumeric characters in the ϕName symbol set can follow (up to 255 in total). Example labels are ♥46, ✿Daisy and ☠Doomed. Even the Charms by themselves are valid labels.