A.2.2.2 String Operators

The addition operator (+) allows concatenation of Strings. By using the multiplication operator (*), Strings can be concatenated several times, e.g.,

("MINI" + "MOS"  + "-NT")
   //       -> "MINIMOS-NT"
("Vienna" * 3)
   //       -> "ViennaViennaVienna"
// The * operator can be used to create long lines very easily:
("-" * 25) 
   //       -> "-------------------------"

Other data types can be connected to a String as well, whereby non-String values are converted to their String representation as shown in the example below:

3 + " times " + 5 + " equals " + (3 * 5)
   //       -> "3 times 5 equals 15"
5.0 + " over " + 2.0 + " equals " + (5.0 / 2.0)
   //       -> "5.0 over 2.0 equals 2.5"
"i1 = " + 8 mA 
   //       -> "i1 = 0.008 A"

When using the String operators + or * the strongest type of an operand is String. Adding some numbers to a String is equivalent to concatenating their String representations.

This behavior may deliver unexpected results. If there is any doubt, expressions should be enclosed in parentheses, e.g.,

3 + " plus " + 5 + " equals " + 3 + 5
  //       -> "3 plus 5 equals 35" -> Wrong!!
3 + " plus " + 5 + " equals " + (3 + 5)
  //       -> "3 plus 5 equals 8"  -> Correct!!

Robert Klima 2003-02-06