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In the parlance around the early computer systems of the 1980s, “PEEK and POKE” were common terms for manipulating and evaluating memory storage. PEEK referred to looking at a particular memory address, while POKE referred to altering that memory address.
Techopedia Explains PEEK and POKE
The most common uses of PEEK and POKE relate to early computing systems such as eight-bit processors. Here, the memory addresses were limited to a certain eight-bit (256-value) range. A user could issue a PEEK command to look at the contents of a particular memory cell. POKE would effectively change that value.
One of the biggest examples of PEEK and POKE applies to the gaming industry as it developed in the 1980s. Some ended up using POKEs as cheat tools that would alter some memory space in the game to change various conditions such as player status, assets and scores. However, without a direct reference for a POKE command, the user would be going in blind. Some companies issued various cheats by showing players where to change a particular memory address.
