Talk:MUMPS Programming/variables

Globals are not guaranteed to live on DISK. The MUMPS standard does not specify where a Global resides, nor does it specify persistence. It merely specifies that a Global is available to all processes within a given environment. I had the privilege of working with three different members of the MDC in the 80s and 90s, Tom Ackerman, Ed McIntosh and Butch Kolner. Tom corrected me early on in my programming career when I made the mistake of saying Globals reside on DISK.

Certainly, every implementation of MUMPS that I've ever seen implements Globals as persistent and resident on DISK, however, it is possible to implement it differently, given the wording of the standard. (And, yes, I'm aware that MUMPS is no longer maintained as a standard and the MDC has disbanded.) Kemkerj3 (discuss • contribs) 01:55, 31 December 2016 (UTC)