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From: cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: basic BASIC question
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2025 19:19:55 -0000 (UTC)
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
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In article <679d18c2$0$713$14726298@news.sunsite.dk>,
Arne Vajhøj  <arne@vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>On 1/31/2025 1:35 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>> On 1/31/2025 1:28 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>> On 2025-01-31, Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>> Is it common to use:
>>>>
>>>> declare integer constant TRUE = -1
>>>> declare integer constant FALSE = 0
>>>
>>> Oh goody. The "good" old days, when TRUE did not equal TRUE, are 
>>> back. :-)
>> 
>> Some old some new.
>> 
>> C and VMS Basic are old.
>> 
>> But some newer script languages also have a
>> "flexible approach" to true/false.
>> 
>> $ type bool.php
>> <?php
>> 
>> function test($expr) {
>>      echo ($expr ? 'true' : 'false') . "\r\n";
>> }
>> 
>> test(true);
>> test(false);
>> test(1);
>> test(0);
>> test(-1);
>> test("X");
>> test("");
>> test(null);
>> 
>> ?>
>> $ php bool.php
>> true
>> false
>> true
>> false
>> true
>> true
>> false
>> false
>
>$ type bool.py
>def test(expr):
>     print("true" if expr else "false")
>
>test(True)
>test(False)
>test(1)
>test(0)
>test(-1)
>test("X")
>test("")
>test(None)
>$ python bool.py
>true
>false
>true
>false
>true
>true
>false
>false

If you really want to have a good time, look at how
JavaScript deals with this.  Things aren't just true
or false, they're truthy and falsy, and sometimes Nan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et8xNAc2ic8

	- Dan C.