HyperCard's maximum limits are theoretical. In a practical situation, the
actual limits may be less than, or sometimes greater than, the limits
stated here and in the HyperCard documentation. This is due to the
different levels of complexity possible in a stack. For example, HyperCard
currently brings an entire card into memory at once, so the maximum size of
a card is limited by available memory. It's possible that a card with a lot
of extra text and long scripts, created while running HyperCard on a
Macintosh with 2 megabytes of RAM, could not be opened on a Macintosh with
1 megabyte. The current useful size of a card (or background) is therefore
between 50 and 100 kilobytes. The value represented by LONGINT is
2,147,483,647; the value represented by INTEGER is 32,767.
STACK LIMITS
------------
Stack size: 512 megabytes
Minimum stack size: 4896 bytes
Maximum total number of bitmaps, cards, and backgrounds per stack: 16,777,216
Maximum stack name size: 31 characters
Maximum stack script size: 30,000 characters
BACKGROUND LIMITS
-----------------
Background Size (bytes): LONGINT (limited by HC stack size; less than 100 kilobytes for practical use)
Minimum background size: 64 bytes
Maximum parts per background: Integer
Maximum total part size per background (bytes): LongInt
Maximum background name size: 31 characters
Maximum background script size: 30,000 characters
CARD LIMITS
-----------
Card size (bytes): LONGINT (limited by HC stack size; less than 100 kilobytes
for practical use)
Maximum card size: 64 bytes
Maximum parts per card: INTEGER
Maximum total part size per card (bytes): LONGINT
Maximum total text size per card (bytes): LONGINT
Maximum card name size: 31 characters
Maximum card script size: 30,000 characters
PART (BUTTON OR FIELD) LIMITS
-----------------------------
Part size (bytes): INTEGER (The sum of the other elements in the button or field must be less than the part size.)
Minimum overhead per part: 30 bytes
Maximum part name size: 31 characters
Maximum part text size: 30,000 characters
Maximum part script size: 30,000 characters
HYPERTALK LIMITS
----------------
Maximum nested REPEAT structures: 30
Maximum nested REPEAT structures: 32
Maximum active variables (all pending handlers): 512
Maximum size card name with GO command: 31 characters
Maximum variable name size: 31 characters
Maximum number format size: 31 characters
Maximum size of command with arguments: 254 characters
Maximum handler name size: 254 characters
Maximum script size: 30,000 characters
Maximum variable value size: Limited by available memory
Article Change History:
04 Jan 1996 - Added new limit information.
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