There's no performance difference. Although I add comments, most just look at the code and quickly understand it's padding by dropping the 1 off the front of the number.
If you don't like the TRICK, then use one of the following. I tend not to write macros for 1 line. 4 lines if you check the size. &PADDED SETC '000&C'(K'&C,4) pad left to 4 characters &PADDED SETC '&C.000'(1,4) pad right to 4 characters Jon Perryman. >________________________________ > From: John Gilmore <jwgli...@gmail.com> > > >I do not see much difference in performance between my substringing >operation and Mr. Perryman's; and I prefer that counters count what >they are counting in unbiased, if you will simplistic, fashion. > >Tricks lead others astray unless they are accompanied by tediously >detailed comments, and sometimes even then. Mais, a chacun son goûte. > >In any case all such operations should be packageded up in a macro. >My own is imaginatively called PADDER. It pads on the left or right >parametrically with repetitions of a nominated or default single >character or repetitions, perhaps truncated, of a nominated character >string of non-identical characters. >
