Since there seems to be a lot of encouragement to beginners on this 
list, I've  lost my fear of appearing dumb and lazy ( lazy by not taking 
the time to wade through miles of old posts for the answers to questions 
that may have already been answered) and would like to ask a couple 
question I haven't found a satisfactory answer to yet:

 - What is this mysterious 'zak space' specifically useful for?
 - why use zak space rather than just ordinary global variables?

By just reading the first chapter of The Csound Book online, I've 
already put together a composition I'm quite proud of, but it's more 
beginner's luck than science. I now sense the need to learn all the 
important background stuff before I make some more 'hit and miss' 
notes.  I echo the recent "Thanks for the encouragement!"

Peter