Can I use base 2 (binary) numbers in the expression language?

Ignition
1

if I use binEnc in a case, I’d like to use binary numbers instead of decimal in the case conditions to make it easier to read.

e.g.

case(binEnc(1,1,0)
   ,b000, ''
   ,b010, ''
   ,b100, ''
   ,b110, ''
   ,'Invalid'
)

Is this possible? I can’t find anything in the user manual…

I guess I could use:

case(binEnc(1,1,0)
   ,binEnc(0,0,0), ''
   ,binEnc(0,1,0), ''
   ,binEnc(1,0,0), ''
   ,binEnc(1,1,0), ''
   ,'Invalid'
)

but that’s a bit… yeah…
I know some of you are computers and can just convert 53 to 110101, but I’m not and prefer simple things like the metric system :slight_smile:

2

Unfortunately, I don’t think that binary literals are accepted, although hex literals are.

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image786×307 23.4 KB

I’m not sure that’s more readable. It is less key strokes though. :laughing:

Also, be careful if you do go the route of binEnc(). I would look at binEnc(1,0,0) and think 4, but it’s actually computed as 1, so that could add confusion :man_shrugging:t2:

1 Like
3

You could use

case(fromBinary("110")
   ,fromBinary("000"), ''
   ,fromBinary("010"), ''
   ,fromBinary("100"), ''
   ,fromBinary("110"), ''
   ,'Invalid'
)
1 Like
4

Blegh. @nminchin , use Hex.

2 Likes
5

I agree with Phil here. Hex would be my choice too.

6

The whole point is to make it easy to see exactly what inputs you’re looking for though, hex is just a number and won’t identify bits that are on without calculation. It would be the exact same as using decimal

7

convert the number to bin with format for leading zeors if you wish

case(numberFormat(toBinary(3),"000")
   ,"000", '' //0
   ,"001", '' //1
   ,"010", '' //2
   ,"011", '' //3
   ,'Invalid'
)
8

The relationship between base 2 and base 16 for 8 bits bytes being what it is, it’s not exactly the same as decimal. Hex to binary mental conversion is relatively simple, though I agree it’s less ‘graphic’ than having the bits displayed directly.

That being said, you could maybe use hex/decimal and put the binary representation in a comment on the same line:

case(binEnc(1, 1, 0),
    0x0, "",        // 0000
    0x1, "",        // 0001
    0x2, "",        // 0010
    0x3, "",        // 0011
    "invalid"
)
1 Like
10

Using hex, you only need to know it one nibble at a time (see what I did there?)

3 Likes
11

Hex perfectly aligns with four bits at a time. A little experience, and yes, you will "see" the bits at a glance.

12

Hey, I did this one 2 weeks ago !

1 Like
13

You’re over thinkin’ it. Keep it simple and put the detail in the comments, then the next guy will know exactly what you’re on about. :+1:

14

I ended up going with binEnc for all, compare value and cases. Made it super easy to write and compare :slight_smile: you hex guys are all from another “base”:wink:

2 Likes