This Chapter explains what memory banks are, the sort of information they can hold and how they are used.
Any AMOS Professional program can include optional lists of images, audio samples or music themes. These items are managed by the AMOS Professional system automatically, and they can be permanently installed as part of your programs. This means that once these items have been set up, they may be exploited instantly.
AMOS Professional stores this information in special areas of accommodation known as memory banks", and these banks can be created by certain accessories such as the Object Editor, or directly inside a program with the RESERVE command. Memory banks are also generated as a direct result of certain instructions, such as GET SPRITE and FRAME LOAD.
Memory bank numbers, names and types
Every memory bank is assigned its own unique number, ranging from 1 up to 65535. Bank
numbers 1 to 4 are normally reserved for Objects, icons, music and AMAL programs, and the
remaining banks can be used for any information you choose.
As well as their identification number, most memory banks also have a name, indicating the type of information that they are holding. Here are some typical names:
"Sprites" can contain Objects used for Sprite and Bob images.
"Samples" can hold sound samples.
"Music" can store melodies and background music.
"Resource" can store definitions for control buttons and boxes.
There are two main types of memory bank, "data banks" and "work banks".
A data bank is used to hold vital information which must be permanently available for your programs to use. Data banks are saved along with the program's Basic listings automatically. This means that once they have been installed, there is no need to worry about them any further.
A work bank is temporary, and is freshly defined every time that a program is run. Work banks are totally discarded when programs are saved onto disc.
Memory banks are also organised according to the type of memory that they make use of.
Fast banks are stored in fast memory, if this type of memory is available. Fast memory cannot be used for items that need to be accessed by the Amiga's hardware chips, such as Sprites or samples, but they are fine for AMAL programs or menu definitions.
Chip banks are reserved using the Amiga's chip memory, and they can be used directly with the Amiga's own sound and graphics chips. Depending on the model of Amiga in use, there can be anything between 512k and 2024k of chip Ram at your disposal.