Poke - Definition

In computing, POKE is a BASIC programming language command used for setting the contents of a memory address. It is usually invoked as follows, either in direct mode (entered and executed at the BASIC prompt) or in indirect mode (in a program):

POKE(address,value)

An alternative (syntactically simplified) syntax, used in e.g. Commodore BASIC V1.0+, is:

POKE address,value

POKE commands are inherently not portable and thus they almost always will not work on any other system than the one the program was written for.

Sometimes POKE is used as a generic term to refer to any direct manipulation of the contents of memory, rather than just via BASIC, particularly among people who learned computing on the 8-bit microcomputers of the late 70s and early 80s. BASIC was often the only language available on those machines, usually present on ROM, and therefore the simplest way to do machine language programming was to use BASIC as a wrapper to POKE the machine language program into memory and then jump to it.

See also: PEEK

Poke is also a card game; see Poke (game).

Poke is also a name of Hawaiian traditional food.

Poke is the name of a character from the science fiction novel Ender's Shadow.

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