# Data representation

Data representation refers to the data types employed in
BASIC. There are primarily two types of data:

| Numeric | Consists of a series of digits and represents an amount, such as 123. |
| --- | --- |
| String | Consists of a set of characters, such as "Jan Smith". |
For non-Pick BASIC, a numeric value in the range of:

{+/-}140737488355327*(10(-*p*))

where *p* is the precision value between 0 and 9, and is stored
as numeric data. A numeric value outside this range is stored as string
data.

Data representation for BASIC and Floating Point BASIC
have implementation specific constraints.

To maintain maximum accuracy, when an operation causes an overflow condition, a precision of up
 to 18 digits to the right of the decimal is stored internally.

Results from addition, subtraction, division, multiplication,
and remainder operations that exceed this range of {+/-}140737488355327*(10(-*p*)) have no limitation on their numeric range.

For
the comparison operators such as `` , and the arithmetic functions int(x), abs(x), mod(x,y), and rem(x,y), there is no limitation, because the result is
limited to a 1 or 0.

The BASIC functions ln(), sqrt(), pwr(), and exp() can be (+/-)140737488355327x(10(-*p*)).

A string can contain up to 2 GB of characters in D3. A
string constant is represented by a set of characters delimited by `’`, `"` , or `\`. If any of
the string delimiters are to be part of the string, then one of the
other delimiters must be used to delimit the string.

Numeric
and string data can be represented within a BASIC program as either
constants or variables. A constant, as its name implies, has the same
value throughout the execution of the program. A variable can contain
data types other than string and numeric data (root, active list,
file variable), but these representations are limited to specific
statements.

## See also

- [Active list](https://d3codex.com/definitions/active-list/)
- [Assignment](https://d3codex.com/pickbasic-flashbasic/assignment/)
- [Attribute count expression](https://d3codex.com/pickbasic-flashbasic/attribute-count-expression/)
- [File variable](https://d3codex.com/pickbasic-flashbasic/file-variable/)
- [Logical expressions](https://d3codex.com/pickbasic-flashbasic/logical-expressions/)

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Source: https://d3codex.com/pickbasic-flashbasic/data-representation/ - part of the D3Codex reference.