Num

version 3

Num (expression) Number

The Num command returns the numeric form of the String or Boolean expression you pass in expression.

If string consists only of one or more alphabetic characters, Num returns a zero. If string includes alphabetic and numeric characters, Num ignores the alphabetic characters. Thus, Num transforms the string "a1b2c3" into the number 123.

Note: Only the first 32 characters of string are evaluated.

There are three reserved characters that Num treats specially: the decimal separator in the US English version (i.e., the period ".") , the hyphen "-", and "e" or "E". These characters are interpreted as numeric format characters.

• The decimal separator is interpreted as a decimal place and must appear embedded in a numeric string.

• The hyphen causes the number or exponent to be negative. The hyphen must appear before any negative numeric characters or after the "e" for an exponent. Except for the "e" character, if a hyphen is embedded in a numeric string, the portion of the string after the hyphen is ignored. For example, Num("123-456") returns 123, but Num("-9") returns -9.

• The e or E causes any numeric characters to its right to be interpreted as the power of an exponent. The "e" must be embedded in a numeric string. Thus, Num("123e–2") returns 1.23.

Note that when the string includes more than on "e", conversion might give different results under Mac OS and under Windows.

If you pass a Boolean expression, Num returns 1 if the expression is True; otherwise, it returns 0 (zero).

1. The following example illustrates how Num works when passed a string argument. Each line assigns a number to the vResult variable. The comments describe the results:

   vResult := Num ("ABCD")  ` vResult gets 0 
   vResult := Num ("A1B2C3")  ` vResult gets 123 
   vResult := Num ("123")  ` vResult gets 123 
   vResult := Num ("123.4")  ` vResult gets 123.4
   vResult := Num ("–123")  ` vResult gets –123 
   vResult := Num ("–123e2")  ` vResult gets –12300

2. Here, [Client]Debt is compared with $1000. The Num command applied to these comparisons returns 1 or 0. Multiplying 1 or 0 with a string repeats the string once or returns the empty string. As a result, [Client]Risk gets either "Good" or "Bad":

      ` If client owes less than 1000, a good risk. 
      ` If client owes more than 1000, a bad risk. 
   [Client]Risk:=("Good"*Num ([Client]Debt<1000))+("Bad"*Num([Client]Debt>=1000))

Logical Operators, String, String Operators.