[amibroker] AB data type mysteries

["Paul A." <amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Folks:

No doubt that I've re-invented the wheel here, and that the behavior of 
AB's three data types (String, Number, Array) are well-known and 
well-documented.  My only problem is that I can't locate the documentation 
that clearly states what the rules are.  Will someone please point me to 
exactly where in the help files the rules and behavior of the three data 
types are defined, and precisely under what conditions  the compiler 
type-checks, typecasts, etc.?

I pretty much get the idea from my little experiment below, but I'd like to 
study the entire documentation on the subject.

Thanks very much.

    -Paul

/////////////

//display reference values for test
_TRACE( "#, C[Barcount-1] = " + NumToStr( C[BarCount-1], 1.2) );
_TRACE( "#, C[25] = " + NumToStr( C[25], 1.2) );
_TRACE( "#, C[37] = "+ NumToStr( C[37], 1.2) );
//test 1
testvar = StrToNum("123");  //create a var of type Number.  Help explicitly 
states that strtonum returns a "Number" type.
_TRACE( "#, test1 = " + testvar);  //display is as expected
//test 2
testvar = C;  //assign an entire Array to a Number variable.  AA should 
refuse to compile, since there should be a data type mismatch.  Or does the 
compiler see the new data type assignment and upgrade the Number var to an 
Array type?
_TRACE( "#, test2 = " + testvar);  //displays only last value of array.  So 
Testvar remains a Number type and is now holding only the last array value, 
right?
//test 3
testvar = testvar[25];  //test whether testvar secretly is holding the 
entire array.  Yup!  Trace only displayed the last element, but apparently 
the whole array was there all along.  But then shouldn't AA refuse to 
compile due to type mismatch?
_TRACE( "#, test3 = " + testvar);
//test 4
testvar = testvar[37];  //shouldn't compile, right?  The TestVar array no 
longer exists and therefore element [37] should be 
undefined.  Interestingly, though, the value of testvar[37] IS still 
defined, except it now contains only the single value from C[25] that 
testvar last contained, back when it was a Number type.
_TRACE( "#, test4 = " + testvar);
//test 5
testvar = StrToNum("456");  //assign a single Number again.
_TRACE( "#, test5 = " + testvar);


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