A variable's type denotes what kind of values it contains. A variable may have any Texis SQL type, eg. varchar for a simple text string, int for integers, or counter for a counter field. The type of a variable depends on how it was assigned. Returned variables from <SQL> statements have the type of the corresponding table column. An assignment statement determines the type of the assigned-to variable from that of its arguments. The type of the return value of user/builtin functions depends on the function.

Casting

Where needed, a variable's values are cast , ie. copied and changed to, a different type. For example, passing an integer variable to a SQL statement that expects a varchar field, will automatically cause the integer value to be cast to a string.

A variable's type affects how it is used in expressions, most notably comparisons. Integer values are compared numerically, so the integer 123 is greater than the integer 45. Strings (varchar type) however, are compared alphabetically, so the string value 123 is less than the string 45 , just as abc is less than de .

IF statement casting

It is useful to note that in an <IF> statement where two values of different types are compared, it is the left value's type that controls the comparison. For example:

  <IF $x lt 123>

If $x is an integer, then it is compared numerically to 123. However, if $x is a string type, it is compared alphabetically. To avoid this ambiguity, put the literal value on the left when possible:

  <IF 123 gt $x>

Literal Types

A literal value used in an assignment statement has one of two types, string or integer. If all the values are normalized (no leading zeros) integers of 8 digits or less, the variable's type is integer. In all other cases it is a string. This ensures that characters are not lost from the original value if it looks like another type but is cast to a string later. The same rule holds true for initial values, eg. from CGI, the environment, etc.