11.1 Programming Basics

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Library Routines

1. String and Character Functions

These routines handle the manipulation of STRING and CHAR data types.

Routine & SyntaxDescription
LEFT(ThisString: STRING, x: INTEGER) RETURNS STRING Returns the leftmost x characters from ThisString. Example: LEFT("ABCDEFGH", 3) returns "ABC"
RIGHT(ThisString: STRING, x: INTEGER) RETURNS STRING Returns the rightmost x characters from ThisString. Example: RIGHT("ABCDEFGH", 3) returns "FGH"
MID(ThisString: STRING, x: INTEGER, y: INTEGER) RETURNS STRING Returns a string of length y starting at position x from ThisString. Example: MID("ABCDEFGH", 2, 3) returns "BCD"
LENGTH(ThisString: STRING) RETURNS INTEGER Returns the integer value representing the length of ThisString. Example: LENGTH("Happy Days") returns 10
TO_UPPER(x: <datatype>) RETURNS <datatype> Converts all characters in x (CHAR or STRING) to upper case. Example: TO_UPPER("Error 803") returns "ERROR 803"
TO_LOWER(x: <datatype>) RETURNS <datatype> Converts all characters in x (CHAR or STRING) to lower case. Example: TO_LOWER("JIM 803") returns "jim 803"

2. Data Conversion Functions

Routines used to convert values between numeric and string formats.

Routine & SyntaxDescription
NUM_TO_STR(x: REAL/INTEGER) RETURNS STRING Returns a string representation of a numeric value. Example: NUM_TO_STR(87.5) returns "87.5"
STR_TO_NUM(x: STRING/CHAR) RETURNS REAL/INTEGER Returns a numeric representation of a string. Example: STR_TO_NUM("23.45") returns 23.45
IS_NUM(ThisString: STRING/CHAR) RETURNS BOOLEAN Returns TRUE if ThisString represents a valid numeric value. Example: IS_NUM("-12.36") returns TRUE
ASC(ThisChar: CHAR) RETURNS INTEGER Returns the integer ASCII value of a character. Example: ASC('A') returns 65
CHR(x: INTEGER) RETURNS CHAR Returns the character whose ASCII value is x. Example: CHR(65) returns 'A'

3. Numeric & Date Functions

Routines for mathematical operations and date processing.

Routine & SyntaxDescription
INT(x: REAL) RETURNS INTEGER Returns the integer part of x. Example: INT(27.5415) returns 27
RAND(x: INTEGER) RETURNS REAL Returns a real number in the range 0 to x (not inclusive of x). Example: RAND(87) could return 35.430729
DAY(ThisDate: DATE) RETURNS INTEGER Returns the day number from ThisDate. Example: DAY(04/10/2003) returns 4
DAYINDEX(ThisDate: DATE) RETURNS INTEGER Returns the day index where Sunday = 1, Monday = 2, etc. Example: DAYINDEX(09/05/2023) returns 3
TODAY() RETURNS DATE Returns the current system date.
⚠️ Exam Note (Text Files):

EOF(FileName: STRING) RETURNS BOOLEAN returns TRUE if there are no more lines to read. The file must be open in READ mode.