Combinations contents
 A combination is like a list, but simpler; it has a fixed, usually short, size. On the other hand, its entries are not all of the same kind as each other.
 The short block for a combination is simply a pointer to the long block. This consists of one word to hold the strong kind ID, and then one word for each entry in the combination. Thus, a triple combination uses 4 words.
 
17Constant COMBINATION_KIND_F = 0;    
18Constant COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE = 1; 
KOV Support.
 See the BlockValues.i6t segment for the specification of the following routines.
 
25[ COMBINATION_TY_Support task arg1 arg2 arg3;
26    switch(task) {
27        CREATE_KOVS:      return COMBINATION_TY_Create(arg1, arg2);
28        DESTROY_KOVS:     COMBINATION_TY_Destroy(arg1);
29        MAKEMUTABLE_KOVS: return 1;
30        COPYKIND_KOVS:    return COMBINATION_TY_CopyKind(arg1, arg2);
31        COPYQUICK_KOVS:   rtrue;
32        COPYSB_KOVS:      BlkValueCopySB1(arg1, arg2);
33        KINDDATA_KOVS:    return COMBINATION_TY_KindData(arg1);
34        EXTENT_KOVS:      return -1;
35        COPY_KOVS:        COMBINATION_TY_Copy(arg1, arg2, arg3);
36        COMPARE_KOVS:     return COMBINATION_TY_Compare(arg1, arg2);
37        HASH_KOVS:        return COMBINATION_TY_Hash(arg1);
38        DEBUG_KOVS:       print " = ", (COMBINATION_TY_Say) arg1;
39    }
40    
41    rfalse;
42];
Creation.
 A combination is like a list, but simpler; it has a fixed, usually short, size. On the other hand, its entries are not all of the same kind as each other.
 Combinations are stored as a fixed-sized block of word entries. The first block is the only header information: a pointer to a further structure in memory, describing the kind. The subsequent blocks are the actual records. Thus, a triple (x, y, z) uses 4 words.
 
55[ COMBINATION_TY_Create kind sb long_block N i bk v;
56    N = KindBaseArity(kind);
57    long_block = FlexAllocate(
58        (COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE+N)*WORDSIZE, COMBINATION_TY, BLK_FLAG_WORD);
59    BlkValueWrite(long_block, COMBINATION_KIND_F, kind, true);
60    for (i=0: i<N: i++) {
61        bk = KindBaseTerm(kind, i);
62        if (KOVIsBlockValue(bk)) v = BlkValueCreate(bk);
63        else v = DefaultValueOfKOV(bk);
64        BlkValueWrite(long_block, COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE+i, v, true);
65    }
66    return BlkValueCreateSB1(sb, long_block);
67];
Destruction.
 If the comb items are themselves block-values, they must all be freed before the comb itself can be freed.
 
74[ COMBINATION_TY_Destroy comb kind no_items i bk;
75    kind = BlkValueRead(comb, COMBINATION_KIND_F);
76    no_items = KindBaseArity(kind);
77    for (i=0: i<no_items: i++) {
78        bk = KindBaseTerm(kind, i);
79        if (KOVIsBlockValue(bk))
80            BlkValueFree(BlkValueRead(comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE));
81    }
82];
Copying.
 Again, if the comb contains block-values then they must be duplicated rather than bitwise copied as pointers.
 
89[ COMBINATION_TY_CopyKind to from;
90    BlkValueWrite(to, COMBINATION_KIND_F, BlkValueRead(from, COMBINATION_KIND_F));
91];
92
93[ COMBINATION_TY_CopySB to from;
94    BlkValueCopySB1(to, from);
95];
96
97[ COMBINATION_TY_KindData comb;
98    return BlkValueRead(comb, COMBINATION_KIND_F);
99];
100
101[ COMBINATION_TY_Copy to_comb from_comb precopied_comb_kov  no_items i nv kind bk;
102    
103    no_items = KindBaseArity(precopied_comb_kov);
104    BlkValueWrite(to_comb, COMBINATION_KIND_F, precopied_comb_kov);
105    for (i=0: i<no_items: i++) {
106        bk = KindBaseTerm(kind, i);
107        if (KOVIsBlockValue(bk)) {
108            nv = BlkValueCreate(bk);
109            BlkValueCopy(nv, BlkValueRead(from_comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE));
110            BlkValueWrite(to_comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE, nv);
111        }
112    }
113];
Comparison.
 This is a lexicographic comparison and assumes both combinations have the same kind.
 
120[ COMBINATION_TY_Compare left_comb right_comb delta no_items i cf kind bk;
121    kind = BlkValueRead(left_comb, COMBINATION_KIND_F);
122    no_items = KindBaseArity(kind);
123    for (i=0: i<no_items: i++) {
124        bk = KindBaseTerm(kind, i);
125        cf = KOVComparisonFunction(bk);
126        if (cf == 0 or UnsignedCompare) {
127            delta = BlkValueRead(left_comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE) -
128                BlkValueRead(right_comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE);
129            if (delta) return delta;
130        } else {
131            delta = cf(BlkValueRead(left_comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE),
132                BlkValueRead(right_comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE));
133            if (delta) return delta;
134        }
135    }
136    return 0;
137];
138
139[ COMBINATION_TY_Distinguish left_comb right_comb;
140    if (COMBINATION_TY_Compare(left_comb, right_comb) == 0) rfalse;
141    rtrue;
142];
147[ COMBINATION_TY_Hash comb  kind rv no_items i bk;
148    rv = 0;
149    kind = BlkValueRead(comb, COMBINATION_KIND_F);
150    no_items = KindBaseArity(kind);
151    for (i=0: i<no_items: i++) {
152        bk = KindBaseTerm(kind, i);
153        rv = rv * 33 + GetHashValue(bk, BlkValueRead(comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE));
154    }
155    return rv;
156];
161[ COMBINATION_TY_Say comb format no_items v i kind bk;
162    if ((comb==0) || (BlkValueWeakKind(comb) ~= COMBINATION_TY)) return;
163    kind = BlkValueRead(comb, COMBINATION_KIND_F);
164    no_items = KindBaseArity(kind);
165    print "(";
166    for (i=0: i<no_items: i++) {
167        if (i>0) print ", ";
168        bk = KindBaseTerm(kind, i);
169        v = BlkValueRead(comb, i+COMBINATION_ITEM_BASE);
170        if (bk == LIST_OF_TY) LIST_OF_TY_Say(v, 1);
171        else PrintKindValuePair(bk, v);
172    }
173    print ")";
174];