In addition to the normal = operator, DataBasic provides a number of assignment operators that provide shortcuts by combining assignment with some other operation. For example, expressions such as
I = I + 2
in which the left-hand side is repeated on the right, can be written
I += 2
The table below lists the supported assignment operators.
| Operator | Example | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| += | A += B | A = A + B |
| -= | A -= B | A = A - B |
| *= | A *= B | A = A * B |
| /= | A /= B | A = A / B |
| := | A := B | A = A : B |
Note that the right-hand side of the expression is computed before the operation is carried out, so
X *= Y + 1
is equivalent to
X = X * (Y + 1)
rather than
X = X * Y + 1
In addition to conciseness, assignment operators can make the code easier to understand. For example,
A(X,Y)<M,N,P>[G,H] = A(X,Y)<M,N,P>[G,H] : B
can be re-written as
A(X,Y)<M,N,P>[G,H] := B
with the benefit that the reader does not have to carefully check that two long expressions are in fact the same, or to wonder why they are not.