dash

Type

operator

Summary

Subtracts one number from another, or designates a number as negative.

Syntax

<firstNumber> - <secondNumber>

<numberArray> - {<number> | <numberArray>}

-<number>

Description

The - (minus) operator serves two purposes. When it has a single operand (unary minus), it negates that number. When it has two operands (binary minus), it subtracts the second number from the first number.

To subtract a number from the contents of a container, use the subtract command.

You cannot use the unary minus twice in a row. The expression

    - - someNumber

causes an error, and the expression

    -- someNumber

is interpreted as a comment because it starts with the comment keyword --.

If firstNumber or secondNumber is an array, each of the array elements must be a number. If a number is subtracted from an array, the number is subtracted from each element. If an array is subtracted from an array, both arrays must have the same number of elements and the same dimension, and each element in one array is subtracted from the corresponding element of the other array.

If an element of an array is empty, the - operator treats its contents as zero.

The unary minus cannot be used with an array.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
firstNumber		A number or an expression that evaluates to a number.
secondNumber		A number or an expression that evaluates to a number.
numberArray	array	An array whose elements contain numbers.
number		A number or an expression that evaluates to a number.

Examples

local myContainer
put -24 into myContainer

local theRight, theLeft, theWidth
put theRight - theLeft into theWidth

local myArray, adjustedValues
put myArray - 17 into adjustedValues

# Assume a card with three fields as named below, and a button.
# Fields "tNumList1" and "tNumList2" each contain return-delimited
#  lists of numbers. The button script contains this handler:
on mouseUp
    local tNumList1, tNumList2
    put fld "list1" into tNumList1
    put fld "list2" into tNumList2
    split tNumList1 by return
    split tNumList2 by return
    put tNumList2 - tNumList1 into tNumList1
    combine tNumList1 by row
    put tNumList1 into fld "subtracted"
end mouseUp

Related

command: subtract, split, combine

glossary: operand, operator, element, negative, binary, array, command, unary

keyword: singleline comment, element

operator: left-round-bracketright-round-bracket, plus

Compatibility and Support

Introduced

LiveCode 1.0

OS

mac

windows

linux

ios

android

Platforms

desktop

server

mobile