Kinds Index Table of all the kinds;   how arithmetic affects them; and   details of each kind in turn. What are kinds?  ; More about kinds of object  ; And kinds of value

value	default value	repeat	props	under
number	0
time	9:00 AM
object	nothing
room [1]	Cabin
thing [45]	yourself
door [1]	door of the cabin
container [5]	Torpor
vehicle	--
player's holdall	--
supporter [1]	table
backdrop	--
person [4]	yourself
man	--
woman	--
animal	--
monster [1]	raven
device	--
convnode [2]	null-node
subject	--
misc-suggestion [3]	yes-suggestion
weapon [5]	your natural weapon
natural weapon [4]	your natural weapon
sword [1]	black sword
direction [12]	north
region	--
scene [2]	the Entire Game
truth state [2]	false
protocol type  [2]	implicit
library message id  [312]	LibMsg <you have died>
tense  [2]	past tense
grammatical number  [2]	singular
grammatical person  [3]	first person
gender  [3]	gender masculine
letter case  [2]	lower-case
hostility  [6]	neutral
combat state  [3]	None
react state  [3]	No React
task  [5]	finding the medicine
feeling  [7]	restless
text	""
indexed text	""
stored action	waiting
list of any kind	{ }
rule [1298]	the little-used do nothing rule
rulebook [499]	the action-processing rules
action-name [108]	waiting action
activity [32]	printing the name
table-name [32]	a table with no rows or columns
equation-name	an equation doing nothing
figure-name [1]	figure of cover
sound-name	a silent non-sound
external-file	a non-file
snippet	word 1 of command
description	matching nothing

The default value is used when we make something like a variable but don't tell Inform what its value is. For instance, if we write 'Zero hour is a time that varies', but don't tell Inform anything specific like 'Zero hour is 11:21 PM.', then Inform uses the value in the table above to decide what it will be. The same applies if we create a property (for instance, 'A person has a number called lucky number.'). Kinds of value not included in the table cannot be used in variables and properties.

A tick for repeat means that it's possible to repeat through values of this kind. For instance, 'repeat with T running through times:' is allowed, but 'repeat with N running through numbers:' is not - there are too many numbers for this to make sense. A tick here also means it's possible to form lists such as 'list of rulebooks', or to count the 'number of scenes'.

A tick for props means that values of this kind can have properties. For instance, 'A scene can be thrilling or dull.' makes an either/or property of a scene, but 'A number can be nice or nasty.' is not allowed because it would cost too much storage space. (Of course 'Definition:' can always be used to make adjectives applying to numbers; it's only properties which have storage worries.)

A tick for under means that it's possible to understand values of this kind. For instance, 'Understand "award [number]" as awarding.' might be allowed, if awarding were an action applying to a number, but 'Understand "run [rule]" as rule-running.' is not allowed - there are so many rules with such long names that Inform doesn't add them to its vocabulary during play.

Kinds of value marked with the calculator symbol are numerical - these are values we can add, multiply and so on. The range of these numbers depends on the Format setting for the project (Glulx format supports much higher numbers than Z-code).

kind of value	minimum	maximum	dimensions
number	1	2147483647	dimensionless
time	1 minute	23 hours 59 minutes	(time)

time (plural times) 
A time of day, written in the form '2:34 AM' or '12:51 PM', or a length of time such as '10 minutes' or '3 hours 31 minutes', which must be between 0 minutes and 23 hours 59 minutes inclusive.

object (plural objects)
Objects are values intended to simulate physical things: places, people, things, and so on. They come in many kinds. The special value 'nothing' is also allowed, and can be used to mean 'no object at all'.

room (plural rooms) 
Represents geographical locations, both indoor and outdoor, which are not necessarily areas in a building. A player in one room is mostly unable to sense, or interact with, anything in a different room. Rooms are arranged in a map.
Usually lighted not dark, unvisited not visited.
Can have description (some text), printed name (some text), map region (an object).
Cabin 

thing (plural things)
Represents anything interactive in the model world that is not a room. People, pieces of scenery, furniture, doors and mislaid umbrellas might all be examples, and so might more surprising things like the sound of birdsong or a shaft of sunlight.
Usually unlit not lit, inedible not edible, portable not fixed in place, singular-named not plural-named, improper-named not proper-named, described not undescribed, unmarked for listing not marked for listing, mentioned not unmentioned, neuter, ordinarily enumerated not ambiguously plural, unseen not seen, unfamiliar not familiar.
Usually not scenery, wearable, pushable between rooms, handled.
Can have description (some text), printed name (some text), indefinite article (some text), initial appearance (some text), printed plural name (some text), matching key (an object).
self-suggestion  , Library_message_debug  , I7_LibraryMessages  , My teeth , various sundries and oddments , dirty plates , manila folders full of useless papers , pieces of string , Beethoven compact disc , bottles , stuffed toy , cassettes , Love , medicine , novels , Inferno , rotting cucumber , holy water , window of the cabin , reason for his visit , doctors , New Haven , not calling me sir , help 

door, a kind of thing (plural doors) 
Represents a conduit joining two rooms, most often a door or gate but sometimes a plank bridge, a slide or a hatchway. Usually visible and operable from both sides (for instance if you write 'The blue door is east of the Ballroom and west of the Garden.'), but sometimes only one-way (for instance if you write 'East of the Ballroom is the long slide. Through the long slide is the cellar.').
Always fixed in place not portable.
Usually closed not open, openable not unopenable, unlocked not locked.
Usually not lockable.
Never pushable between rooms.
Can have other side (an object).
door of the cabin 

container, a kind of thing (plural containers)
Represents something into which portable things can be put, such as a teachest or a handbag. Something with a really large immobile interior, such as the Albert Hall, had better be a room instead.
Usually opaque not transparent, open not closed, unopenable not openable, unlocked not locked.
Usually not enterable, lockable.
Can have carrying capacity (a number).
Torpor , teapot , trunk , bed , can of beer 

vehicle, a kind of container (plural vehicles) 
Represents a container large enough for a person to enter, and which can then move between rooms at the driver's instruction. (If a supporter is needed instead, try the extension Rideable Vehicles by Graham Nelson.)
Always enterable.
Usually fixed in place not portable.

player's holdall, a kind of container (plural player's holdalls) 
Represents a container which the player can carry around as a sort of rucksack, into which spare items are automatically stowed away.
Always portable not fixed in place.
Usually openable not unopenable.

supporter, a kind of thing (plural supporters)
Represents a surface on which things can be placed, such as a table.
Usually fixed in place not portable.
Usually not enterable.
Can have carrying capacity (a number).
table 

backdrop, a kind of thing (plural backdrops) 
Represents an aspect of the landscape or architecture which extends across more than one room: for instance, a stream, the sky or a long carpet.
Always fixed in place not portable.
Usually scenery.
Never pushable between rooms.

person, a kind of thing (plural people) 
Despite the name, not necessarily a human being, but anything animate enough to envisage having a conversation with, or bartering with.
Usually male not female, not at parry not at parry, not at dodge not at dodge.
Usually not neuter.
Can have carrying capacity (a number), node (convnode), ask-suggestions (a list of), tell-suggestions (a list of), other-suggestions (a list of), health (a number), permanent health (a number), gained health (a number), melee (a number), defence (a number), damage die (a number), initiative modifier (a number), concentration (a number), combat AI rulebook (the name of a rulebook), hostility (Hostility), combat state (Combat state), react state (React state).
yourself, boy , 'us' he mentioned 

man, a kind of person (plural men)
Represents a man or boy.
Always male not female.
Never neuter.

woman, a kind of person (plural women)
Represents a woman or girl.
Always female not male.
Never neuter.

animal, a kind of person (plural animals)
Represents an animal, or at any rate a non-human living creature reasonably large and possible to interact with: a giant Venus fly-trap might qualify, but not a patch of lichen.

monster, a kind of person (plural monsters) 
raven 

device, a kind of thing (plural devices) 
Represents a machine or contrivance of some kind which can be switched on or off.
Usually switched off not switched on.

convnode, a kind of thing (plural convnodes) 
A convnode is a thing that represents a particular point in a conversation at which particular conversational responses become relevant (such as when an NPC has asked a question to which you might want to respond YES or NO). A convnode can be open (in which case it normally lasts only one turn, and can be effectively bypassed altogether if the player chooses to ignore the extra options available at that point) or closed (in which case only the conversational responses available for that convnode are available, and the player will be stuck in the convnode until explicitly released; this can be used to allow an NPC to force a player to answer his/her question).
Usually open not closed.
Usually not auto-suggesting.
Can have next-node (convnode), node-time (a number), ask-suggestions (a list of), tell-suggestions (a list of), other-suggestions (a list of).
null-node  , boy-doing-here-node 

subject, a kind of thing (plural subjects) 
Something that conversation can refer to, but which has no real-world presence or functionality.
Usually familiar not unfamiliar.

misc-suggestion, a kind of thing (plural misc-suggestions) 
An misc-suggestion is an object for use in an other-suggestions list. It is used to suggest topics for conversation other than those the player might ask about or tell about (e.g. SAY YES or GIVE HIM THE BOOK). The printed name of an misc-suggestion should be something that would make sense following 'You could '. An misc-suggestion can be given a seqno in order to place it in an appropriate place in the sequence of misc-suggestions.
Usually proper-named not improper-named, familiar not unfamiliar.
Can have seqno (a number).
yes-suggestion  , no-suggestion  , yes-no-suggestion 

weapon, a kind of thing (plural weapons) 
Usually not readied not readied.
Can have damage die (a number), dodgability (a number), passive parry max (a number), active parry max (a number), weapon attack bonus (a number), maximum shots (a number), current shots (a number), maximum load time (a number), current load time (a number).

natural weapon, a kind of weapon (plural natural weapons) 
your natural weapon , boy's natural weapon , 'us' he mentioned's natural weapon , raven's natural weapon 

sword, a kind of weapon (plural swords) 
black sword 

direction (plural directions) 
Represents a direction of movement, such as northeast or down. They always occur in opposite, matched pairs: northeast and southwest, for instance; down and up.
Usually unmarked for listing not marked for listing.
Can have opposite (direction).
north, northeast, northwest, south, southeast, southwest, east, west, up, down, inside, outside

region (plural regions) 
Represents a broader area than a single room, and allows rules to apply to a whole geographical territory. Each region can contain many rooms, and regions can even be inside each other, though they cannot otherwise overlap. For instance, the room Place d'Italie might be inside the region 13th Arrondissement, which in turn is inside the region Paris. Regions are useful mainly when the world is a large one, and are optional.

scene (plural scenes) 
Like a scene in a play: a period of time which is usually tied to events in the plot. Scenes are created by sentences like 'Midnight Arrival is a scene.'

truth state (plural truth states) 
The state of whether something is 'true' or 'false'. (In other computing languages, this might be called 'boolean', after the 19th-century logician George Boole, who first realised this was a kind of value.)

protocol type  (plural protocol types  )
One of the following: implicit, explicit

library message id  (plural library message ids  )
One of the following: LibMsg <you have died>, LibMsg <you have won>, LibMsg <player self description>, LibMsg <unimportant object>, LibMsg <empty line>, LibMsg <confirm Quit>, LibMsg <yes or no prompt>, LibMsg <restrict answer>, LibMsg <page prompt>, LibMsg <menu prompt>, LibMsg <comment recorded>, LibMsg <comment not recorded>, LibMsg <undo succeeded>, LibMsg <undo failed>, LibMsg <undo not provided>, LibMsg <cannot undo nothing>, LibMsg <cannot undo twice in a row>, LibMsg <undo forbidden>, LibMsg <oops failed>, LibMsg <oops too many arguments>, LibMsg <oops no arguments>, LibMsg <cannot do again>, LibMsg <again usage>, LibMsg <command not understood>, LibMsg <command partly understood>, LibMsg <command badly ended>, LibMsg <command incomplete>, LibMsg <command cut short>, LibMsg <number not understood>, LibMsg <cannot begin at comma>, LibMsg <extra words before comma>, LibMsg <unknown object>, LibMsg <object not held>, LibMsg <unknown verb>, LibMsg <verb cannot have inanimate object>, LibMsg <noun needed>, LibMsg <noun not needed>, LibMsg <object needed>, LibMsg <object not needed>, LibMsg <second object needed>, LibMsg <second object not needed>, LibMsg <second noun needed>, LibMsg <second noun not needed>, LibMsg <something more substantial needed>, LibMsg <verb cannot have multiple objects>, LibMsg <too many multiple objects>, LibMsg <not that many available>, LibMsg <no objects available>, LibMsg <zero multiple objects>, LibMsg <first N objects>, LibMsg <excepted object not included anyway>, LibMsg <report implicit take>, LibMsg <report npc implicit take>, LibMsg <implicitly pass outwards through other barriers>, LibMsg <implicitly pass inwards through other barriers>, LibMsg <cannot drop clothes being worn>, LibMsg <cannot insert clothes being worn>, LibMsg <cannot put clothes being worn>, LibMsg <cannot exceed carrying capacity>, LibMsg <use holdall to avoid exceeding carrying capacity>, LibMsg <cannot insert if this exceeds carrying capacity>, LibMsg <cannot put if this exceeds carrying capacity>, LibMsg <who disambiguation>, LibMsg <which disambiguation>, LibMsg <whom disambiguation>, LibMsg <what disambiguation>, LibMsg <single object disambiguation>, LibMsg <pronoun not set>, LibMsg <pronoun absent>, LibMsg <Pronouns initial text>, LibMsg <Pronouns -means- text>, LibMsg <Pronouns -unset- text>, LibMsg <no pronouns known>, LibMsg <person ignores command>, LibMsg <cannot talk to absent person>, LibMsg <cannot talk to inanimate object>, LibMsg <npc unable to do that>, LibMsg <confirm Restart>, LibMsg <Restart failed>, LibMsg <Restore failed>, LibMsg <Restore succeeded>, LibMsg <Save failed>, LibMsg <Save succeeded>, LibMsg <Verify succeeded>, LibMsg <Verify failed>, LibMsg <transcript already on>, LibMsg <transcript already off>, LibMsg <start of transcript>, LibMsg <end of transcript>, LibMsg <transcript failed>, LibMsg <end transcript failed>, LibMsg <Score command>, LibMsg <score changed>, LibMsg <score notification turned on>, LibMsg <score notification turned off>, LibMsg <no scoring>, LibMsg <score rank>, LibMsg <report npc taking inventory>, LibMsg <Inventory initial text>, LibMsg <Inventory no possessions>, LibMsg <entering darkness>, LibMsg <dark description>, LibMsg <examine while dark>, LibMsg <search while dark>, LibMsg <look under while dark>, LibMsg <dark room name>, LibMsg <report player taking>, LibMsg <report npc taking>, LibMsg <cannot take yourself>, LibMsg <cannot take other people>, LibMsg <cannot take something you are within>, LibMsg <cannot take something already taken>, LibMsg <cannot take possessions of others>, LibMsg <cannot take component parts>, LibMsg <cannot take hidden parts>, LibMsg <cannot reach within closed containers>, LibMsg <cannot take scenery>, LibMsg <cannot take something fixed>, LibMsg <cannot reach within other places>, LibMsg <report player removing>, LibMsg <report npc removing>, LibMsg <cannot remove from closed containers>, LibMsg <cannot remove something not within>, LibMsg <report player dropping>, LibMsg <report npc dropping>, LibMsg <cannot drop something already dropped>, LibMsg <cannot drop not holding>, LibMsg <cannot drop if this exceeds carrying capacity>, LibMsg <report player inserting>, LibMsg <report npc inserting>, LibMsg <cannot insert something not held>, LibMsg <cannot insert into something not a container>, LibMsg <cannot insert into closed containers>, LibMsg <need to take off before inserting>, LibMsg <cannot insert something into itself>, LibMsg <report player putting on>, LibMsg <report npc putting on>, LibMsg <cannot put something not held>, LibMsg <cannot put something on it-self>, LibMsg <cannot put onto something not a supporter>, LibMsg <cannot put onto something being carried>, LibMsg <report player giving>, LibMsg <report npc giving to player>, LibMsg <report npc giving to npc>, LibMsg <cannot give what you have not got>, LibMsg <cannot give to yourself>, LibMsg <block giving>, LibMsg <unable to receive things>, LibMsg <cannot show what you have not got>, LibMsg <block showing>, LibMsg <report player entering>, LibMsg <report npc entering>, LibMsg <cannot enter something already entered>, LibMsg <cannot enter something not enterable>, LibMsg <cannot enter closed containers>, LibMsg <cannot enter something carried>, LibMsg <report player exiting>, LibMsg <report npc exiting>, LibMsg <cannot exit when not within anything>, LibMsg <cannot exit closed containers>, LibMsg <cannot get off things>, LibMsg <cannot exit thing not within>, LibMsg <cannot go that way>, LibMsg <cannot travel in something not a vehicle>, LibMsg <cannot go through concealed doors>, LibMsg <cannot go up through closed doors>, LibMsg <cannot go down through closed doors>, LibMsg <cannot go through closed doors>, LibMsg <nothing through door>, LibMsg <block vaguely going>, LibMsg <say npc goes>, LibMsg <say npc arrives>, LibMsg <say npc arrives from unknown direction>, LibMsg <say npc arrives at>, LibMsg <say npc goes through>, LibMsg <say npc arrives from>, LibMsg <say npc vehicle>, LibMsg <say npc pushing in front with player>, LibMsg <say npc pushing in front>, LibMsg <say npc pushing away>, LibMsg <say npc pushing in>, LibMsg <say npc taking player along>, LibMsg <brief look mode>, LibMsg <superbrief look mode>, LibMsg <verbose look mode>, LibMsg <report npc looking>, LibMsg <top line what on>, LibMsg <top line what in>, LibMsg <top line what as>, LibMsg <say things within>, LibMsg <say things also within>, LibMsg <say things on>, LibMsg <report npc examining>, LibMsg <examine undescribed things>, LibMsg <examine direction>, LibMsg <examine devices>, LibMsg <report npc searching>, LibMsg <cannot search unless container or supporter>, LibMsg <cannot search closed opaque containers>, LibMsg <nothing found within container>, LibMsg <nothing found on top of>, LibMsg <report npc looking under>, LibMsg <look under>, LibMsg <report player opening>, LibMsg <report npc opening>, LibMsg <report unseen npc opening>, LibMsg <cannot open unless openable>, LibMsg <cannot open something locked>, LibMsg <cannot open something already open>, LibMsg <reveal any newly visible exterior initial text>, LibMsg <no newly visible exterior>, LibMsg <report player closing>, LibMsg <report npc closing>, LibMsg <report unseen npc closing>, LibMsg <cannot close unless openable>, LibMsg <cannot close something already closed>, LibMsg <report player locking>, LibMsg <report npc locking>, LibMsg <cannot lock without a lock>, LibMsg <cannot lock something already locked>, LibMsg <cannot lock something open>, LibMsg <cannot lock without the correct key>, LibMsg <report player unlocking>, LibMsg <report npc unlocking>, LibMsg <cannot unlock without a lock>, LibMsg <cannot unlock something already unlocked>, LibMsg <cannot unlock without the correct key>, LibMsg <report player switching on>, LibMsg <report npc switching on>, LibMsg <cannot switch on unless switchable>, LibMsg <cannot switch on something already on>, LibMsg <report player switching off>, LibMsg <report npc switching off>, LibMsg <cannot switch off unless switchable>, LibMsg <cannot switch off something already off>, LibMsg <report player wearing>, LibMsg <report npc wearing>, LibMsg <cannot wear something not clothing>, LibMsg <cannot wear not holding>, LibMsg <cannot wear something already worn>, LibMsg <report player taking off>, LibMsg <report npc taking off>, LibMsg <cannot take off something not worn>, LibMsg <report player eating>, LibMsg <report npc eating>, LibMsg <cannot eat unless edible>, LibMsg <block drinking>, LibMsg <block tasting>, LibMsg <block smelling>, LibMsg <block listening>, LibMsg <report player touching things>, LibMsg <report npc touching things>, LibMsg <report player touching self>, LibMsg <report npc touching self>, LibMsg <report player touching other people>, LibMsg <report npc touching other people>, LibMsg <block saying yes>, LibMsg <block saying no>, LibMsg <block saying sorry>, LibMsg <block swearing obscenely>, LibMsg <block swearing mildly>, LibMsg <block climbing>, LibMsg <block jumping>, LibMsg <block swinging>, LibMsg <block waving hands>, LibMsg <block attacking>, LibMsg <block burning>, LibMsg <block cutting>, LibMsg <block rubbing>, LibMsg <block setting to>, LibMsg <block tying>, LibMsg <report player waving things>, LibMsg <report npc waving things>, LibMsg <cannot wave something not held>, LibMsg <squeezing people>, LibMsg <report player squeezing>, LibMsg <report npc squeezing>, LibMsg <block throwing at>, LibMsg <throw at inanimate object>, LibMsg <report player pushing>, LibMsg <report npc pushing>, LibMsg <report player pulling>, LibMsg <report npc pulling>, LibMsg <report player turning>, LibMsg <report npc turning>, LibMsg <block pushing in directions>, LibMsg <not pushed in a direction>, LibMsg <pushed in illegal direction>, LibMsg <cannot push something fixed in place>, LibMsg <cannot pull something fixed in place>, LibMsg <cannot turn something fixed in place>, LibMsg <cannot push scenery>, LibMsg <cannot pull scenery>, LibMsg <cannot turn scenery>, LibMsg <cannot push people>, LibMsg <cannot pull people>, LibMsg <cannot turn people>, LibMsg <block answering>, LibMsg <block asking>, LibMsg <block buying>, LibMsg <block kissing>, LibMsg <block singing>, LibMsg <block telling>, LibMsg <telling yourself>, LibMsg <block thinking>, LibMsg <block player consulting>, LibMsg <block npc consulting>, LibMsg <block sleeping>, LibMsg <block waking up>, LibMsg <block waking other>, LibMsg <report player waiting>, LibMsg <report npc waiting>

tense  (plural tenses)
One of the following: past tense, present tense

grammatical number  (plural grammatical numbers  )
One of the following: singular, plural

grammatical person  (plural grammatical persons  )
One of the following: first person, second person, third person

gender  (plural genders)
One of the following: gender masculine, gender feminine, gender neuter

letter case  (plural letter cases  )
One of the following: lower-case, upper-case

hostility  (plural hostilities)
One of the following: neutral, friendly, hostile, hostile_2, hostile_3, hostile_4

combat state  (plural combat states )
One of the following: None, Acted, React

react state  (plural react states )
One of the following: No React, Defensive, Aggressive

task  (plural tasks)
One of the following: finding the medicine, administering the medicine, waiting for the boy to recover, killing the raven, who knows ?

feeling  (plural feelings)
One of the following: restless, pensive, blood rush, extreme agony, excited, sad, tired

text (plural texts)
Some text in double quotation marks, perhaps with substitutions written in square brackets.

indexed text (plural indexed texts) 
A flexible-length form of text which can be internally altered and searched. Inform automatically changes text to this format when necessary.

stored action (plural stored actions) 
A stored action, which can later be tried.

list of any kind (plural lists of any kind) 
A flexible-length list of values, where all of the items have to have the same kind of value as each other - for instance, a list of rooms, or a list of lists of numbers. The empty list, with no items yet, is written { }, and a list with items in is written with commas dividing them - say {2, 5, 9}.

rule (plural rules) 
One of many, many rules which determine what happens during play. Rules can be triggered by scenes beginning or ending, by certain actions, at certain times, or in the course of carrying out certain activities.

rulebook (plural rulebooks) 
A list of rules to follow, in sequence, to get something done. A rulebook is like a ring-binder, with the individual rules as sheets of paper. Inform normally sorts these into their 'natural' order, with the most specific rules first, but it's easy to shuffle the pages if you need to. When some task is carried out during play, Inform is normally working through a rulebook, turning the pages one by one.

action-name (plural action-names) 
An action is what happens when one of the people in the simulated world decides to do something. A full action would be something like 'dropping the box', but an action name is just the choice of which sort of thing is being done: here, it's 'the dropping action'. (Action names are always written with the word 'action' at the end, to make sure they aren't mistaken for full actions.)

activity (plural activities) 
An activity is something which Inform does as part of the mechanics of play - for instance, printing the name of an object, which Inform often has to do. An activity can happen by itself ('printing the banner text', for instance) or can be applied to an object ('printing the name of something', say).

table-name (plural table-names) 
Like tables of information in a book or newspaper, tables in Inform hold values which have been organised into rows and columns. A table-name is just a single value, identifying which table is meant - say, 'Table of US Presidents' might be a table-name value.

equation-name (plural equation-names)
Like formulae in a textbook or a scientific paper, equations in Inform are written out in displayed form and given names.

figure-name (plural figure-names) 
When made with the Glulx setting, an Inform project can include images as well as words, and these are called figures. A figure-name is just the name of one of the figures in the current project.

sound-name (plural sound-names) 
When made with the Glulx setting, an Inform project can include sound effects or pieces of music. A sound-name is just the name of one of these sounds in the current project.

external-file (plural external-files) 
When made with the Glulx setting, an Inform project can make limited use of files stored on the computer which is operating the story at run-time. An external-file is just the name of one of these files (not the filename in the usual sense, but a name given to it in the Inform source text).

snippet (plural snippets) 
A fragment of the player's most recent typed command, taking in a run of consecutive words.

description (plural descriptions) 
A description of objects - say, 'animals which are in closed containers' - may not look like a value, but it is. Writing 'the number of visible women', for instance, actually applies the phrase 'number of...' to the value 'visible women', this being a description. (We very rarely need to know this, but occasionally it's useful to store descriptions or do other value-related things with them.)