Be nice

[George Hester]

It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[Aaron Bertrand [MVP]]

Thanks George, I've forwarded the issue along to some folks (when I reviewed
the article, I found 6 or 7 other things I didn't like).

"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:#L**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when
was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[Evertjan.]

George Hester wrote on 02 nov 2003 in
microsoft.public.inetserver.asp.general:

It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript.
Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

"+" always was a string concatenation operator in VBScript
and in most earlier Basixc dialects.

The "&" as an more specific alternative is a latecomer in Basic.

Stopping the "+" operator having this behavour and reserving it for
numerical adding and optional unary operator behavour, would be a good
thing, IMHO.
--
Evertjan.
The Netherlands.
(Please change the x'es to dots in my emailaddress)

[Bob Barrows]

George Hester wrote:

It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript.
Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...catenation.asp

+ is both a concatenation and an addition operator. The only difference in
vbscript between + and & is that & will force concatenation. If both
operands can be coerced to numbers, addition will occur. If either operand
cannot be coerced to numeric, concatenation will occur. When & is used,
concatenation is the only operation allowed, which means that both operands
are coerced to strings before the operation is done. This is
well-documented.

Bob Barrows

--
Microsoft MVP - ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. This email account is my spam trap so I
don't check it very often. If you must reply off-line, then remove the
"NO SPAM"

[Aaron Bertrand [MVP]]

> + is both a concatenation and an addition operator. The only difference in

vbscript between + and & is that & will force concatenation. If both
operands can be coerced to numbers, addition will occur. If either operand
cannot be coerced to numeric, concatenation will occur. When & is used,
concatenation is the only operation allowed, which means that both operands are coerced to strings before the operation is done. This is
well-documented.

I don't think George is trying to state that this isn't well-documented. I
think he is just implying (and I tend to agree) that the default
recommendation for string operations be + ... I think they should be using &
in all cases where they are not intending to perform an addition operation
(and I think it's poor that this dual construct was ever there in the first
place). Just because you *can* do something, and that it *is* well
documented, doesn't mean it's the way you *should* do it...

Now, of course, you could argue from the other side, e.g. that the +
operator has multiple functions in other languages, such as T-SQL, JScript,
C#, etc. But when an alternative that is better defined is there, why not
use it instead?

[Bob Barrows]

Aaron Bertrand [MVP] wrote:

I don't think George is trying to state that this isn't
well-documented. I think he is just implying (and I tend to agree)
that the default recommendation for string operations be +

:-)
No, that is your interpretation of what George was saying. I think "It may
help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript." is a pretty clear
statement. And a very incorrect statement in this case. :-)

Bob Barrows
--
Microsoft MVP - ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. This email account is my spam trap so I
don't check it very often. If you must reply off-line, then remove the
"NO SPAM"

[Ken Schaefer]

Apparently since version 1 of VBScript according to my WSH Help file.

Well, it seems to be an overloaded operator that does different things
depending what you use it on.

Cheers
Ken

"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when
was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[Joe Fawcett]

"Ken Schaefer" <ke*******@THISadOpenStatic.com> wrote in message
news:OA**************@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...

Apparently since version 1 of VBScript according to my WSH Help file.

Well, it seems to be an overloaded operator that does different things
depending what you use it on.

Cheers
Ken

There's also this behaviour:

Dim sPlus, sAmpersand
sPlus = "Hello " + Null
sAmpersand = "Hello " & Null
WScript.echo sPlus & ""
WScript.echo sAmpersand & ""

Addition sign and Null gives Null, ampersand and Null treats Null as empty
string.

--

Joe

[CJM]

"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:u$*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Aaron Bertrand [MVP] wrote:

I don't think George is trying to state that this isn't
well-documented. I think he is just implying (and I tend to agree)
that the default recommendation for string operations be +
:-)
No, that is your interpretation of what George was saying. I think "It may
help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript." is a pretty

clear statement. And a very incorrect statement in this case. :-)

Actually, I agree with you both.

I agree George said what Bob said, but I think George meant what Aaron said
he meant...! George...??

Personally agree with Aaron. And Bob.

....er, I think.

Yes '+' is overloaded, and thus can be used fairly in this example. But
surely '&' would be the better default choice.

Chris

[Roland Hall]

It's overloaded and confusing.

<%@ Language=VBScript %>
<%
Option Explicit
dim an, a, eq, e, plus
an = "&" + "&"
a = "&"
eq = "=" & "="
e = "="
plus = "+"
%>
<script type="text/vbscript">
sub alertit(a, b)
msgbox "" & a + "<%=eq%>" + b & "<%=e%>TRUE", 64, "TRUE"
end sub
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var a<%=e%>"<%=a%>" <%=plus%> "<%=a%>", b<%=e%>"<%=an%>";
if(a <%=eq%> '&&' <%=an%> b <%=eq%> '&&') {
alert("a" <%=plus%> "<%=eq%>" <%=plus%> "b" <%=plus%> "<%=e%>" <%=plus%>
"TRUE");
alertit(a, b);
}
</script>

"CJM" <cj*****@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:eq**************@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:u$*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Aaron Bertrand [MVP] wrote:

I don't think George is trying to state that this isn't
well-documented. I think he is just implying (and I tend to agree)
that the default recommendation for string operations be +
:-)
No, that is your interpretation of what George was saying. I think "It may
help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript." is a pretty

clear statement. And a very incorrect statement in this case. :-)

Actually, I agree with you both.

I agree George said what Bob said, but I think George meant what Aaron said
he meant...! George...??

Personally agree with Aaron. And Bob.

....er, I think.

Yes '+' is overloaded, and thus can be used fairly in this example. But
surely '&' would be the better default choice.

Chris

[George Hester]

Dang all I know is that the sample didn't work with "+" and did with "&." Must be something else I did then to make it work for it didn't as written. Of course I hooked it up to my own DSN.

--
George Hester
__________________________________
"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:#L**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[George Hester]

Response.Write iCnt + " <a href=""http://" + rs(1) + """ target=_new>" + rs(1) + "</a><BR>"
Response.Write iCnt & " <a href=""http://" & rs(1) & """ target=_new>" & rs(1) & "</a><BR>"
No problem.

Note there are enough strings in here to show that coersion should not be an issue.

--
George Hester
__________________________________
"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:#L**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[keyur shah]

This sounds crazy... when did developers @ microsoft started mixing
languages... which is even not permitted in .NET :)

Keyur Shah
Verizon Communications
732-423-0745

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***
Don't just participate in USENET...get rewarded for it!

[Bob Barrows]

keyur shah wrote:

This sounds crazy... when did developers @ microsoft started mixing
languages... which is even not permitted in .NET :)

Again: they didn't "+" is a perfectly good concatenation character in
vbscript. I've already posted a link to the documentation in this thread.

That said, I always use "&" for concatenation in vbscript. This habit really
burns me when I'm writing jscript code ...

Bob Barrows

--
Microsoft MVP -- ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. The email account listed in my From
header is my spam trap, so I don't check it very often. You will get a
quicker response by posting to the newsgroup.

[Bob Barrows]

As previously noted in this thread, "+" and "&" handle Nulls differently. Is there a possibility that any of the fields in your recordset contain Null?

Bob Barrows

--
Microsoft MVP -- ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. The email account listed in my From header is my spam trap, so I don't check it very often. You will get a quicker response by posting to the newsgroup.
"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:eY**************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
Response.Write iCnt + " <a href=""http://" + rs(1) + """ target=_new>" + rs(1) + "</a><BR>"
Response.Write iCnt & " <a href=""http://" & rs(1) & """ target=_new>" & rs(1) & "</a><BR>"
No problem.

Note there are enough strings in here to show that coersion should not be an issue.

--
George Hester
__________________________________
"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:#L**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[Ray at]

"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:up**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

Again: they didn't "+" is a perfectly good concatenation character in
vbscript. I've already posted a link to the documentation in this thread.

That said, I always use "&" for concatenation in vbscript. This habit really burns me when I'm writing jscript code ...

Have you coded in php at all? That's the stupidest concatenator I've ever
seen. . It goes against all my instincts, but that's just because I was
raised in a Microsoft family, I guess.

Ray at work

[Bob Barrows]

Ray at <%=sLocation%> wrote:

"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:up**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

Again: they didn't "+" is a perfectly good concatenation character
in vbscript. I've already posted a link to the documentation in this
thread.

That said, I always use "&" for concatenation in vbscript. This
habit really burns me when I'm writing jscript code ...
Have you coded in php at all?

Nope.
That's the stupidest concatenator I've
ever seen. .

Uuuum - what concatenator are you talking about?

Bob

--
Microsoft MVP -- ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. The email account listed in my From
header is my spam trap, so I don't check it very often. You will get a
quicker response by posting to the newsgroup.

[Ray at]

"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:Oq**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

Have you coded in php at all?

Nope.

That's the stupidest concatenator I've
ever seen. .

Uuuum - what concatenator are you talking about?

..

$var1="Bob";
$var2="Barrows";
$var3=$var1." ".$var2;

Ray at work

[Aaron Bertrand - MVP]

> $var3=$var1." ".$var2;

Yeah, that's sexy.

Uh, wait, no it's not.

[Bob Barrows]

Ray at <%=sLocation%> wrote:

"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:Oq**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

Have you coded in php at all?

Nope.

That's the stupidest concatenator I've
ever seen. .

Uuuum - what concatenator are you talking about?

.

$var1="Bob";
$var2="Barrows";
$var3=$var1." ".$var2;

Ughhhh!

Bob
--
Microsoft MVP -- ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. The email account listed in my From
header is my spam trap, so I don't check it very often. You will get a
quicker response by posting to the newsgroup.

[William Tasso]

Bob Barrows wrote:

Ray at <%=sLocation%> wrote:

"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:Oq**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

Have you coded in php at all?

Nope.

That's the stupidest concatenator I've
ever seen. .

Uuuum - what concatenator are you talking about?

.

$var1="Bob";
$var2="Barrows";
$var3=$var1." ".$var2;

Ughhhh!

exactly ;o)

$var1="Bob";
$var2="Barrows";

$var3 = $var1;
$var3 .= " ";
$var3 .= $var2;

produces the same result

--
William Tasso - http://WilliamTasso.com

[Ray at]

"William Tasso" <ne****@tbdata.com> wrote in message
news:eU**************@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...

exactly ;o)

$var1="Bob";
$var2="Barrows";

$var3 = $var1;
$var3 .= " ";
$var3 .= $var2;

produces the same result

This further exposes my mother tongue. I never think of the += type of
things, even when I'm doing a set /a in a batch file. I suck.

Ray at work

[George Hester]

Nope. No nulls.

--
George Hester
__________________________________
"Bob Barrows" <re******@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message news:#L**************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
As previously noted in this thread, "+" and "&" handle Nulls differently. Is there a possibility that any of the fields in your recordset contain Null?

Bob Barrows

--
Microsoft MVP -- ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. The email account listed in my From header is my spam trap, so I don't check it very often. You will get a quicker response by posting to the newsgroup.
"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:eY**************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
Response.Write iCnt + " <a href=""http://" + rs(1) + """ target=_new>" + rs(1) + "</a><BR>"
Response.Write iCnt & " <a href=""http://" & rs(1) & """ target=_new>" & rs(1) & "</a><BR>"
No problem.

Note there are enough strings in here to show that coersion should not be an issue.

--
George Hester
__________________________________
"George Hester" <he********@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:#L**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
It may help if someone at Microsoft knows how to write VBScript. Since when was "+" a string concatenation character in VBScript?

http://support.microsoft.com/default...04&Product=asp

--
George Hester
__________________________________

[Bob Barrows]

OK, you've intrigued me. I am going to try to reproduce this on my machine.
It's an Access database, right? Can you give me an example of the data that
produces this error... wait a minute. I bet I know what the issue is. Let me
go and test it. I'll be right back ...

No, that's not it. I thought that the failure to explicitly specify the
field's value property was causing the problem, i.e.:

Response.Write rs(0) + "<BR>"
vs
Response.Write rsFields(0).value + "<BR>"

but that turned out not to be the problem - both of these statements worked
well for me. So the only alternative is that in your table, rs(0) is not a
Text column. In fact, using a numeric column was the only way I could
reproduce your error:

rs.Open "SELECT NumberColumn FROM tblblogs",cn, _
,,adCmdText
Response.Write rs(0) + "<BR>"

I made a mistake in my first reply in this thread. If you go back and
re-read the documentation
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...ncatenation.as
p), you will see that when a number and a string are the addends of the +
operator, addition is attempted, not concatenation. So,

Response.Write 1 + "<BR>"
will cause a type mismatch, since "<BR>" cannot be coerced to a number.

Response.Write 1 + "1"
will result in 2

Response.Write Cstr(1) + "1"
will result in "11"

To reiterate, when using the + operator, concatenation only occurs when both
addends are strings.

Using & will cause both addends to be converted to strings, no matter what
datatype they are initially, so concatenation will always occur.

HTH,
Bob Barrows

--
Microsoft MVP - ASP/ASP.NET
Please reply to the newsgroup. This email account is my spam trap so I
don't check it very often. If you must reply off-line, then remove the
"NO SPAM"

[Bob Barrows]

Bob Barrows wrote:

Response.Write rsFields(0).value + "<BR>"

should be
Response.Write rs.Fields(0).value + "<BR>"