VB.NET Language in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Sign Function

Class

System.Math

Syntax

Sign(value)

value (required; any numeric type, including Decimal)

A numeric expression

Return Value

Integer

Description

Determines the sign of a number

Rules at a Glance

The return value of the Sign function is determined by the sign of value, as follows:

If number is	Sign returns
Positive	1
Zero	0
Negative	-1

Programming Tips and Gotchas

• Sign is useful in cases in which the sign of a quantity defines the sign of an expression. For example:

  lngResult = lngQty * Sgn(lngValue)

• This is a Shared member, so it can be used without creating any objects.

• If you are using the Sign function to evaluate a result to False (0) or True (any nonzero value), you could use the CBool function instead.

• A major use for Sign is to determine the sign of an expression.

VB.NET/VB 6 Differences

The name of this function has changed. In VB 6, it is named Sgn. In VB.NET, it is named Sign and is a member of the Math class of the System namespace.

See Also

If...Then...Else Statement