Steve, First of all, you forced both the second and third lines to characters by having characters in both lines. So they would both produce '22'.
But to add to the confusion, here is the simple program that I wrote: /* REXX */ X = 2 + "2"; Y = "2" + 2; SAY "Second 2 Quoted:" SAY X; SAY "First 2 Quoted:" SAY Y; With the result: Second 2 Quoted: 4 First 2 Quoted: 4 Both converted to numerics!! I'm confused! Wayne Bell UniGroup, Inc. Not true; both produce "22": System.out.println("In main"); System.out.println("2 + quoted 2 = " + (2 + "2")); System.out.println("quoted 2 + 2 = " + ("2" + 2)); System.out.println("Leaving main"); yields: In main 2 + quoted 2 = 22 quoted 2 + 2 = 22 Leaving main Kind regards, -Steve Comstock The Trainer's Friend, Inc. ######################################################################## This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. UNIGROUPINC.COM ######################################################################## ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html