TYPE( ) Function
Returns the data type of an expression.
Note
VARTYPE( ) is similar to the TYPE( ) function, but VARTYPE( ) is faster and does not require quotation marks ("") to enclose the specified expression.
TYPE(cExpression [, 1])
Parameters
cExpression
Specifies the expression, which can be a variable, array, field, memo field, or other expression, for which the data type is returned.Note
You must pass the expression as a character string by enclosing the expression with quotation marks (""). If you do not enclose the expression with quotation marks, TYPE( ) evaluates the contents of the expression.
1
Include the optional parameter 1 to determine if cExpression is an array or a Collection Class. COM objects are not supported with the 1 parameter.
Return Value
Character. TYPE( ) returns a character representing the data type of the specified expression.
The following table lists the character values that TYPE( ) returns and their corresponding data types.
Return value |
Data type |
|---|---|
A |
Array (only returned when the optional 1 parameter is included) |
C |
Character, Varchar, Varchar (Binary) If the optional 1 parameter is included, a return value of C indicates that the data type is a collection. |
D |
Date |
G |
General |
L |
Logical |
M |
Memo |
N |
Numeric, Float, Double, or Integer |
O |
Object |
Q |
Varbinary |
S |
Screen Note The Screen type is created when using the SAVE SCREEN command. For more information, see SAVE SCREEN Command. |
T |
DateTime |
U |
Undefined type of expression or cannot evaluate expression. If the optional 1 parameter is included, a return value of U indicates that the data type is not an array. |
W |
Blob |
Y |
Currency |
Remarks
If you pass an array as a parameter to TYPE( ), the data type returned corresponds to the first element in the array. If you want to check the data type for a specific array element, you must specify that element in the parameter. For example:
? TYPE("myarray[3]")
You can also use the TYPE( ) function to check if a memory variable is an array. For example:
? TYPE("myarray[1]")#"U"
Note
TYPE( ) cannot be used to evaluate UDFs (user-defined functions).
Example
CLOSE DATABASES
OPEN DATABASE (HOME(2) + 'Data\testdata')
USE customer && Opens Customer table
nTest = 1.01
cTest = "String"
CLEAR
? TYPE('customer.contact') && Displays C
? TYPE('(12 * 3) + 4') && Displays N
? TYPE('DATE( )') && Displays D
? TYPE('.F. OR .T.') && Displays L
? TYPE('ANSWER=42') && Displays U
? TYPE('$19.99') && Displays Y
? TYPE('nTest') && Displays N
? TYPE('cTest') && Displays C