CHAPTER TWO THE FOUR OPERATIONS

An arithmetic operation is specified by combining operands with one arithmetic operator. Arithmetic operations can also be specified by the ADD, SUBTRACT, DIVIDE, and MULTIPLY built-in functions. You can use the following operators in arithmetic operations: Table 1. Arithmetic operator Operator Operator name +Addition-Subtraction*Multiplication⁄Division**Exponentiation The plus sign and the minus sign can appear as prefix operators or as infix operators. All other arithmetic operators can appear only as infix operators. Prefix operators can precede and be associated with any of the operands of an infix operation. For example, in the expression A*-B, the minus sign indicates that the value of A is multiplied by -1 times the value of B. More than one prefix operator can precede and be associated with a single variable. More than one positive prefix operator has no cumulative effect, but two negative prefix operators have the same effect as a single positive prefix operator.