Arguments to VAL which contain non-numeric characters.

[bitvast]

I'm looking for a bit of clarification. If the argument to VAL includes characters which don't represent numbers, then it will convert the string representation of the number (if the sting includes one) to a number as long as the number comes first. e.g.

str$ = "27 : widgets"
num = VAL(str$)
PRINT num
27

But


str$ = "widgets : 27"
num = VAL(str$)
PRINT num0

So it seems that the way VAL works is to look for a valid number at the beginning of the string, and if it doesn't find it, it returns 0.

[Pjot]

Hi bitvast,

The VAL function relies on the C function 'atof'. From the 'atof' manpage:

The atof() function converts the initial portion of the string....

So you're right, it is about the beginning of the string.

HTH
Peter