PRB: Can't Set Certain DataTypes to Minimum Documented Value

ID: Q143422

The information in this article applies to:

- Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Editions of Microsoft Visual

  Basic, 16-bit and 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0

- Standard and Professional Editions of Microsoft Visual Basic

  programming system for Windows, version 3.0

SYMPTOMS

Setting a currency, long, integer, or double to its minimum documented value is not valid. If you hard code the value, then the error message: "INVALID Number" from Visual Basic 3, and "Expected: expression" from Visual Basic 4 displays. However, if you try set a variable of any of these types at run-time, an Overflow Error displays.

CAUSE

The reason for this behavior is that Microsoft Visual Basic reads all negative numbers first as their absolute value, and then applies a unary negative. Because Microsoft Visual Basic puts the absolute value into a placeholder of the type identified by the type suffix, it reports the error when the positive limit is exceeded.

RESOLUTION

Negative values that are greater in absolute value than the maximum positive value are invalid.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

INTEGER: -32768% LONG: -2,147,483,648& CURRENCY: -922337203685477.5808@ DOUBLE: -1.79769313486232E308#

Additional query words: kbDSupport kbdss kbVBp400 kbVBp300 kbNoKeyword

Keywords          : PrgOther 
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0,4.0;
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 21, 1998