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Strings and NumbersYou can convert between strings and numbers and numbers and strings in a variety of ways. For instance, suppose that you have the user type in a number using an input field. Then you want to add 1 to that number. If num is the variable linked to that input field, you could try it like this: b = num + 1; If num contained "42", would the resulting value of "b" be 43? No. It would be "421." This is because "42" is a string with the characters "4" and "2" in it, not the number 42. To make Flash see the "42" as a number, you use one of two functions to convert strings to numbers. The parseInt function takes a string and converts it to an integer. The parseFloat function takes a string and converts it into a floating point number. So parseInt("42") returns the number 42. This function doesn't round, however, so parseInt("42.9") also resolves to 42. It just cuts the number off at the first non-digit. If you use parseFloat("42.9") , you get 42.9. So, to round correctly, you could use Math.round(parseFloat("42.9")) . The parseFloat function also keeps the number as an integer if no floating point portion is needed. So parseFloat("42") resolves to 42. Unless you are strictly using integers, you might want to use parseFloat as your main conversion function.
If you want to convert a number to a string, you need to use the toString function. This works a little differently than the parse functions because it is an operation performed on a number variable using dot syntax. Here is an example: a = 325; trace(a.toString() + 1); The result is "3251" as you might expect.
The semi-obsolete but convenient functions Number and String can also be used for conversions. These can be used to convert strings to numbers and vice versa. However, they are mostly present in Flash 6 as a backward compatibility measure for updating older Flash movies. |
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