Q30402: INPUT Receives Nonzero Value When "&" Character Is Input

Article: Q30402
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 4.00 4.00b 4.50
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | buglist4.00 buglist4.00b buglist4.50 B_BasicCom | mspl13_basic
Last Modified: 31-JAN-1990

When you INPUT the ampersand (&) character into a numeric variable,
the value input is nonzero. This result occurs in QuickBASIC Versions
4.00, 4.00b, and 4.50, and in Microsoft BASIC Compiler Versions 6.00
and 6.00b for MS-DOS and MS OS/2.

Receiving the ampersand character in an INPUT statement should return
zero, because the ampersand character denotes a long-integer constant.
However, this character does not return zero.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in QuickBASIC Versions
4.00, 4.00b, and 4.50, and in Microsoft BASIC Compiler Versions 6.00
and 6.00b for MS-DOS and MS OS/2 (buglist6.00, buglist6.00b). This
problem was corrected in Microsoft BASIC Professional Development
System (PDS) Version 7.00 for MS-DOS and MS OS/2 (fixlist7.00).

In the QB.EXE environment, a value of 203 is received when the
ampersand character is INPUT. When running the same program from an
EXE file, the value 233 is received. In an EXE program compiled with
Microsoft BASIC Compiler Versions 6.00 and 6.00b, the value 259 is
received.

The INPUT statement correctly inputs a zero into a numeric variable
when you input the ampersand character in QuickBASIC Version 3.00, or
in BASIC PDS 7.00.

The following is a code example:

   INPUT "Enter an integer : ", I%     ' Type in & character.
   PRINT I%

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