| ATOM DeleteAtom(atm) | |||||
| ATOM atm; | /* atom to delete | */ | |||
The DeleteAtom function decreases the reference count of a local atom by one. If the atom's reference count becomes zero, the string associated with the atom is removed from the local atom table.
atm
Identifies the atom and character string to be deleted.
The return value is zero if the function is successful. It is equal to the atm parameter if the function failed and the atom has not been deleted.
An atom's reference count specifies the number of times the atom has been added to the atom table. The AddAtom function increases the count on each call; the DeleteAtom function decreases the count on each call. DeleteAtom removes the string only if the atom's reference count is zero.
AddAtom