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Documentation/BASIC Guide/Runtime Library 43
Runtime Library
Documentation/ BASIC Guide/
Runtime Library
The following sections present the central functions of the runtime library:
• Conversion Functions
• Strings
• Date and Time
• Files and Directories
• Message and Input Boxes
• Other Functions
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Principal Authors: Fpe, Ccornell, TJFrazier
Conversion Functions
In many situations, circumstances arise in which a variable of one type has to be changed
into a variable of another type.
Implicit and Explicit Type Conversions
The easiest way to change a variable from one type to another is to use an assignment.
Dim A As String
Dim B As Integer
B = 101
A = B
In this example, variable A is a string, and variable B is an integer. OpenOffice.org Basic
ensures that variable B is converted to a string during assignment to variable A. This
conversion is much more elaborate than it appears: the integer B remains in the working
memory in the form of a two-byte long number. A, on the other hand, is a string, and the
computer saves a one- or two-byte long value for each character (each number). Therefore,
before copying the content from B to A, B has to be converted into A's internal format.
Unlike most other programming languages, Basic performs type conversion automatically.
However, this may have fatal consequences. Upon closer inspection, the following code
sequence