> > UPDATE TABLE SET FIELD1 = 'NOW' + 10 will give you ten days
> > time.
>
> No, it will give you a timestamp which is ten days in the future. I hope
> you see the difference.

My point was that you can just treat timestamps as numbers
when you want to use them like that. The problem I see is
that intermediate code can convert them to any format of
date or time layout - but for my applications I don't need (
or want ) a conversion from the internal number. In most
cases I am looking for the duration since the last event, or
the number of days since a last visit.

> > select FIELD1 from TABLE into :FLOAT
> >
> > will give you a number but the conversion to text happens
> > automatically.
>
> Torturing the figures to have them match the theory? ;-)
> Your select will give you a result of the type of TABLE.FIELD1; if it's
> a date/time/timestamp you don't see the conversion of it to a string,
> just the only reasonable printed representation for it (in no case
> should you see 3045.533).

The remaining problem is that the reasonable printed
representation may not be what is wanted. If you are doing
calculations on the dates or times, you want the numbers.

The only 'mistake' I made was I did not ask - "What is the
correct way to get the number when that is what we actually
want?"

--
Lester Caine
-----------------------------
L.S.Caine Electronic Services