//Operators like '+' , ' * ', or '<' are used to manipulate constants and fields.
//For example, "3+8" is an example of a dBASE expression in which the
//Add operator acts on two numeric constants to return the numeric value
//"11".
//The values an operator acts on must have a type appropriate for the
//operator. For example, the divide '/' operator acts on two numeric values.
//Precedence
//Operators have a precedence which specifies operator evaluation order.
//The precedence of each operator is specified in the following tables which
//describe the various operators. The higher the precedence, the earlier the
//operation will be performed. For example, 'divide' has a precedence of 6
//and 'plus' has a precedence of 5 which means 'divide' is evaluated before
//'plus'. Consequently, "1+4/2" is "3".
//Evaluation order can be made explicit by using brackets. For example,
//"1+2 * 3" returns "7" and "(1+2) * 3" returns "9".
Numeric Operators
The numeric operators all operate on Numeric values.
Operator Name Symbol Precedence
Add + 5
Subtract - 5
Multiply * 6
Divide / 6
Exponent ** or ^ 7
Character Operators
There are two character operators, named "Concatenate I" and
"Concatenate II", which combine two character values into one. They are
distinguished from the Add and Subtract operators by the types of the
values they operate on.
Operator Name Symbol Precedence
Concatenate I + 5
Concatenate II - 5
Examples:
" 'John ' + 'Smith' " becomes " 'John Smith' "
" 'ABC' + 'DEF' " becomes " 'ABCDEF' "
Concatenate II is slightly different as any spaces at the end of the first
Character values are moved to the end of the result.
" 'John'-'Smith ' " becomes " 'JohnSmith ' "
" 'ABC' - 'DEF' " becomes " 'ABCDEF' "
" 'A ' - 'D ' " becomes " 'AD ' "
Relational Operators
Relational Operators are operators which return a Logical result (which is
either true or false). All operators, except Contain, operate on Numeric,
Character or Date values. Contain operates on two character values and
returns true if the first is contained in the second.
Operator Name Symbol Precedence
Equal To = 4
Not Equal To <> or # 4
Less Than < 4
Greater Than > 4
Less Than or Equal To < = 4
Greater Than or Equal To > = 4
Contain $ 4
Examples:
" 'CD' $ 'ABCD' " returns ".T."
" 8<7 " returns ".F."
Logical Operators
Logical Operators return a Logical Result and operate on two Logical
values.
Operator Name Symbol Precedence
Not .NOT. 3
And .AND. 2
Or .OR. 1
Examples:
" .NOT. .T. " returns ".F."
" .T. .AND. .F." returns ".F."
