Type Conversion

It is often necessary to convert a variable from one data type to another. CAPITAL Business Script (CBS) provides functions to perform these conversion tasks.

Character (String) to Number Conversions

Use the AsVal() function to convert a character string to a number. For example:

Message := '123'

Number := AsVal(Message)

Number := Number + 1

If a character string does not contain a number, the AsVal() function will convert the string to zero. For example, executing AsVal('John') returns the number zero.

Number to Character (String) Conversions

Use the Str() function to convert a number into a character string. The Str() function accepts two optional parameters: the length of the string and the number of decimal places.

Number := 123

Message := Str(Number, 10, 2)

* Result := ' 123.00'

Specifying 10 as the second parameter creates a string that is 10 characters long. The third parameter also specifies that the character string contain a decimal point and 2 digits. If the third parameter were to be omitted the number would be rounded to an integer and the returned character string would be " 123".

If you specify a string length less that is less than the minimum required to show the full number, CBS returns a string consisting of a series of asterisks. I.e., "******". This is a safety precaution that ensures that either a correct number is displayed or no number at all.

Date to Character and Character to Date Conversions

Use the function DTOC() to convert a date to a character and CTOD() to convert a character string to a date. For example:

MyDate := CTOD('01/05/01')

* the variable MyDate now contains a date value

Message := DTOC(MyDate)

* the variable Message now contains the string '01/05/01'

Determining the Type of a Variable

You can determine what type a variable is by using the TYPE() function:

IF Type(MyVar) == 'C'

   RETURN TRUE

Endif