Re: How to replace TESTN in /free ?

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael Gottlieb wrote:
> (as he continues in his quest to banish the dreaded C-spec, he asks......)
>
> Is there a replacement for TESTN in /free?
> How do you check a character field for valid numerics?

First off, TESTN probably never did quite what you wanted anyways. 
For example, strings like '123F' and '456G' test as valid numerics, 
which may or may not fit what you're doing.

One alternative way to test for numerics is 
"%CHECK('0123456789':STRING)". Another is to just convert the string 
to a number using %DEC() or %INT(), and MONITOR for any exception. 
The latter is probably best if you intent to convert to a numeric 
value anyways.

Cheers! Hans