Note: The following functions should not be considered a complete list of all available thinBasic numeric functions, but this set will probably do for 99% of your requirements. If time permits, explore the full thinBasic Help document to review the complete set. Enter HELP thinBasic at the SPFLite command prompt to open the thinBasic help file.


ABS

 Num-var = ABS(numeric-expression)

Return the absolute value of a expression.


The absolute value of a number is its non-negative value . For example, the absolute value of -3 is 3, and the absolute value of +3 is also 3. The absolute value of 0 is 0.


ATN

 Num-var = ATN(numeric-expression)

Return the arctangent of an argument.


ATN returns the arctangent (Inverse Tangent) of numeric-expression; that is, the angle whose tangent is numeric-expression.


The result is in radians rather than degrees. To convert radians to degrees, multiply the radian value by 180/pi, or 57.29577951308232.


CEIL

 Num-var = CEIL(numeric-expression)

Convert a variable or expression into an value, by returning the smallest integral value that is greater than or equal to its argument.


The CEIL function rounds upward, returning the smallest integral value that is greater than or equal to numeric-expression. 


For example, y = CEIL(1.5) places the value 2 into y.


CHOOSE

 Num-var = CHOOSE(index, string-expression [,string-expression] ... )


Return one of several values, based upon the value of an index. It returns one of the parameters based upon the value of index. That is, if index is one, choice1 is returned. If two, choice2 is returned, etc. If index is not equal to one of the choice values, 0 is returned.


COS

 Num-var = COS(numeric-expression)

Return the cosine of an argument.


numeric-expression is an angle specified in radians. To convert radians to degrees, multiply by 57.29577951308232##. To convert degrees to radians, multiply by 0.0174532925199433.


COS returns a value that always ranges between -1 and +1 inclusive.


DECR

 DECR  numeric-variable

Decrement a variable by 1.


Note: A variable may also be decremented by the notation  variable -= 1


EXP

EXP2

EXP10

 Num-var = EXP(numeric-expression)

Return a base number raised to a power. The base is e for EXP, 2 for EXP2, and 10 for EXP10.


EXP returns e to the nth power, where n is a numeric variable or expression and e is the base for natural logarithms, approximately 2.718282. Among other uses, this provides a simple way to obtain the value of e itself:


e = EXP(1)


EXP2(n) returns 2 to the nth power, where n is a numeric variable or expression.


EXP10(n) returns 10 to the nth power, where n is a numeric variable or expression.


The EXP functions provide a convenient alternative to the ^ operator, which works with any base. 


FIX

 Num-var = FIX(numeric-expression)

Truncate a number to an integer value.


FIX strips off the fractional part of its argument, and returns the integer part. Unlike INT, FIX does not perform any form of rounding or scaling.


FALSE

TRUE

 Same as literal value of 0

 Same as literal value of -1

FALSE and TRUE may be used anywhere the literal values of 0 and -1 can be used, including the VALUE clause of DIM statements. 


Be aware that, while the value of TRUE is -1, a "true" value for purposes of conditional expressions such as in IF statements is a non-zero value, not just the value -1. This is similar to how conditions are tested in the C language. You can use TRUE and FALSE to set a flag variable, and you can test a flag for FALSE, but it's best not to test a flag for TRUE. Instead of using IF flag = TRUE THEN, you should simply say IF flag THEN. If you want to force a numeric expression to be exactly equal to either TRUE or FALSE, you can use the thinBasic function IsTrue.


FRAC

 Num-var = FRAC(Numeric-expression) 

Return the fractional part of a number.


FRAC returns the number after the decimal point of a number or expression. FRAC rounds the result to fit the precision of Numeric Expression.


IIF

 Num-var = IIF(Num-expression, true-part, false-part) 

Return one of two values based upon a TRUE/FALSE evaluation.


If num-expression evaluates to TRUE (non-zero), the true-part is returned, else the false-part is returned. num-expression is evaluated as a normal Boolean expression.


Both true-part and false-part should generate a normal numeric return value.

Compare to the IIF$ function.


INCR

 INCR  numeric-variable

Increment a variable by 1.


Note: A variable may also be incremented by the notation  variable += 1


INT

 Num-var = INT(Num-expression) 

INT rounds num-expression to the largest integral value that is less than or equal to num_expression.


ISFALSE

ISTRUE

ISFALSE(expression)

ISTRUE(expression)

ISTRUE returns -1 (TRUE) when expression evaluates as non-zero; otherwise, it returns zero (FALSE). ISFALSE returns -1 when expression evaluates as 0 (FALSE); otherwise, it returns zero.

Truth table

operator

expression

Result

ISTRUE

= 0

0 (False)

ISTRUE

<> 0

-1 (True)

ISFALSE

= 0

-1 (True)

ISFALSE

<> 0

0 (False)


MAX

 Num-var = MAX(Number1, [,Number2] ...)

Return the argument with the  largest (maximum) value.


This function takes any number of arguments and return the argument with the largest (maximum) value.


MIN

 Num-var = MIN(Number1, [,Number2] ...)

Return the argument with the smallest (minimum) value.


This function takes any number of arguments and return the argument with the smallest (minimum) value.


MOD

 Num-var = MOD(Quotient, Divisor)

Return the remainder of the division between two numbers.


The MOD operator divides the two operands, Quotient and Divisor, and returns the remainder of that division. The result of the initial division is truncated to an integer value, before the remainder is calculated.


RANDOMIZE

 [ number ]

Seed the random number generator.


number is a seed value. If number is not specified, a random value based on the TIME is used.


Values returned by the random number generator (RND) depend on an initial seed value. For a given seed value, RND always returns the same sequence of values, yielding a predictable pseudo-random number sequence. Thus, any program that depends on RND will run exactly the same way each time unless a different seed is given.


RND

 Num-var = RND(From-value, To-Value)

Return a random number.


If no operands are provided, RND returns a random value that is less than 1, but greater than or equal to 0. Numbers generated by RND aren't really random, but are the result of applying a pseudo-random transformation algorithm to a starting ("seed") value. Given the same seed, the RND algorithm always produces the same sequence of "random" numbers. 


When From-value and To-value are provided, RND(a, b) returns a integer in the range of a to b inclusive. a and b can each be a numeric literal or a numeric expression.


ROUND

 Num-var = ROUND(Num-exprerssion, Num-decimal-places)

Round a numeric value to a specified number of decimal places.


Num-decimal-places is an expression specifying the number of decimal places required in the result. 


Rounding is done according to the "banker's rounding" principle: if the fractional digit being rounded off is exactly five, with no trailing digits, the number is rounded to the nearest even number. This provides better results, on average, than the simple "round up at five" approach.

A% = ROUND(0.5, 0)      ' 0

A% = ROUND(1.5, 0)      ' 2

A% = ROUND(2.5, 0)      ' 2

A% = ROUND(2.51, 0)     ' 3


SGN

 Num-var = SGN(Num-exprerssion)

Return the sign of a numeric expression.


If num-expression is positive, SGN returns 1. If num-expression is zero, SGN returns 0. If num-expression is negative, SGN returns -1.


SIN

 Num-var = SIN(Num-exprerssion)

Return the sine of its argument.


num-expression is an angle specified in radians. SIN returns a value between -1 and +1.


To convert radians to degrees, multiply by 57.29577951308232. To convert degrees to radians, multiply by 0.0174532925199433.


SQR

 Num-var = SQR(Num-exprerssion)

Return the square root of its argument.


num-expression must be greater than or equal to zero. SQR calculates square roots using an optimized algorithm. That is, y = SQR(x) takes less time to execute than y = x^0.5.


Attempting to take the square root of a negative number does not produce any run-time errors, but the results of such an operation are undefined.


Note that unlike some other languages, the square root function is SQR and not SQRT.

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