Returns the absolute value of a number.

Syntax

$absolute(number)

where

Return Value

Number, positive, with the same number of decimal places as number.

Comments

Use $absolute to ensure that a number is positive (for functions such as $sqrt, for example). $absolute returns the absolute (unsigned) value of a number. The absolute value is always treated as positive.

Example

Certain functions – for example, $sqrt – accept only positive arguments. You can use $absolute to ensure that all arguments to these functions are positive.

$sqrt($absolute(-0.98))

evaluates as if it were:

$sqrt(0.98)

See Also

About Functional Expressions