Re: hm.

 BBS: Inland Empire Archive
Date: 10-29-92 (12:15)             Number: 320
From: TONY ELLIOTT                 Refer#: NONE
  To: WARREN SCHREY                 Recvd: NO  
Subj: Re: hm.                        Conf: (2) Quik_Bas

Warren,

 WS> Why does this work?
 WS> A#=100
 WS> B#=533
 WS> C#=8
 WS> D&=A#*B#*C#

 WS> where this
 WS> --clipit--
 WS> D&=100*533*8
 WS> <Overflow Error>

 WS> doesn't?  It seems that QB won't let me insert anything beyond the
 WS> 32767 or -32768 limits using direct numbers as in my second clip...
 WS> Is this a bug, an undocumented feature, or just another of those
 WS> annoyances? :-)

Under most conditions, Basic assumes that literal, whole numbers are
integers -unless- a variable of greater precision appears to the left.
For example:

    D& = A# * 533 * 8

-will- work. Basic evaluates expressions using the algebraic order of
operations. In the above example, it encountered A# and thus considered
any literal values (such as 533 and 8) as double precision as well.
This also works:

    D& = 100& * 533& * 8&
    D& = 100& * 533 * 8         '533 and 8 considered to be long ints
                                'because 100 is a long int.

Putting overrides on literals eliminates the guesswork in Basic's
automatic conversion of literals.

Believe it or not, this is documented .. just not in a great deal of
depth. Ethan Winer's book "PC Magazine's BASIC Techniques and
Utilities" describes this process (as well as many others). A highly
recommended book.

Tony

... Go straight to the docs.  Do not pass GO.  Do not collect $200!
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