Why we use $ sign before variable

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 12:00:10 GMT

Hi,

Can anybody explain me the whole mechanism why to use $ sign before varibale...and if we not use that what happens.How it works all can any body explain clearly

Thanks,

Vasudha

Re: Why we use $ sign before variable

MK_QSL — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 12:03:04 GMT

You can read below two blogs which will give you clear understanding how $ sign works.

The Magic of Variables

The Magic of Dollar Expansions

Re: Why we use $ sign before variable

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 12:04:21 GMT

Hi,

One that is available in QV help section:

Dollar-Sign Expansions

Dollar-sign expansions are definitions of text replacements used in the
script or in expressions. This process is known as expansion - even if the new
text is shorter. The replacement is made just before the script statement or the
expression is evaluated. Technically it is a macro expansion.

A macro expansion always begins with '$(' and ends with ') ' and the content
between brackets defines how the text replacement will be done. To avoid
confusion with script macros we will henceforth refer to macro expansions as
dollar-sign expansions.

Note!
Macro expansion is unrelated
to script macros (VB or Java script defined in the script module).

Note!
A dollar-sign expansion is
limited in how many macro expansions it can calculate. Any expansion over 1000
will not be calculated!

Dollar-Sign Expansion Using a Variable

When using a variable for text replacement in the script or in an expression,
the following syntax is used:

$(
variablename )

$( variablename) expands to
the value in variablename. If variablename does not exist the expansion will be the empty
string.

For numeric variable expansions, the syntax $( variablename ) will generate a number using the regional
decimal separator, i.e. for many countries a decimal comma. Such an expansion
should not be used for numbers inside the script since these must use decimal
point. Instead the expansion $(# variablename ) should be used. (Note the hash
sign). It always yields a valid decimal-point representation of the numeric
value of variablename, possibly with exponential
notation (for very large/small numbers). If variablename does not exist or does not contain a numeric
value, it will be expanded to 0 instead.

Example:

After
execution of the following script:

SET DecimalSep=',';

LET X = 7/2;

$(X ) will expand to 3,5 while $(#X ) will expand
to 3.5.

Examples:

set Mypath=C:\MyDocs\Files\

...

load * from $(MyPath)abc.csv;

set CurrentYear=1992;

...

select * from table1 where Year=$(CurrentYear);

Dollar-Sign Expansion with Parameters

Parameters can be used in variable expansions. The variable must then contain
formal parameters, such as $1, $2, $3 etc. When expanding the variable, the
parameters should be stated in a comma separated list.

Examples:

set MUL=’$1*$2’;

set X=$(MUL(3,7)); // returns '3*7' in X

let X=$(MUL(3,7)); // returns 21 in X

If the number of formal parameters exceeds the number of actual parameters
only the formal parameters corresponding to actual parameters will be expanded.
If the number of actual parameters exceeds the number of formal parameters the
superfluous actual parameters will be ignored.

Examples:

set MUL=’$1*$2’;

set X=$(MUL); // returns '$1*$2' in X

set X=$(MUL(10)); // returns '10*$2' in X

let X=$(MUL(5,7,8)); // returns 35 in X

The parameter $0 returns the number of parameters actually passed by a call.

Example:

set MUL='$1*$2 $0 par';

set X=$(MUL(3,7));
// returns '3*7 2 par' in X

Dollar-Sign Expansion with an Expression

Expressions can be used in dollar-sign expansions.
The content between the brackets must then start with an equal sign:

$( =expression )

The expression will be evaluated and the value will
be used in the expansion.

Example:

$(=Year(Today())); // returns e.g. '2008'

$(=Only(Year)-1); // returns the year before the
selected one

Dollar-Sign Expansion of File - Include Statement

File inclusions are made using dollar-sign
expansions. The syntax is then:

$( include=filename )

The above text will be replaced by the content of
the file specified after the equal sign. This feature is very useful when
storing scripts or parts of scripts in text files.

Example:

$(include=C:\Documents\MyScript.qvs);

Re: Why we use $ sign before variable

Peter_Cammaert — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 12:21:20 GMT

Just a small warning: be precise when dealing with special symbols and punctuation marks (You will be glad I said this once you start working with set analysis ) or posting on the community about these elements..

You can put a $-sign in front of a variable without any problem, and the variable will still be a variable. For example, this script statement

LET $Variable = 5 * 7;

will store the value 35 in variable $Variable. No expansion whatsoever. Here the $-sign is part of the variable name.

It's a different ball game when you use $(stuff) (the dollar sign is followed by opening and closing parentheses and inbetween there is ... stuff) because this doesn't define/reference anything. It's a construct that leads to text subsitution before anything else is done with the resulting expression or statement. The stuff inside the parentheses may consist of variable names, special elements (e.g. include = path), expressions, references to other variables, entire pseudo function calls etc. that may produce text output ranging from nothing at all to entire files.

And the mightiest thing about $-sign substituion is: you can use it almost anywhere!

Pretty powerful stuff

Best,

Peter

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Why we use $ sign before variable

Re: Why we use $ sign before variable

Re: Why we use $ sign before variable

Dollar-Sign Expansions

Dollar-Sign Expansion Using a Variable

Dollar-Sign Expansion with Parameters

Dollar-Sign Expansion with an Expression

Dollar-Sign Expansion of File - Include Statement

Re: Why we use $ sign before variable