Why use an and sign?

[IliaPreston]

I have seen that many people write code like this:

   Dim i    as long
...

   i = i + 1&

Can't they simply write it like this:

   Dim i    as long
...

   i = i + 1

What is the benefit of that and sign after the number?

thanks,

[Doogle]

By default every numeric literal in VB6 is an Integer Type, so if you want to explicitly specify a literal number as being a Long Type you suffix it with an &.

[dilettante]

Also:

    Debug.Print TypeName(1) '<-- use &#37; here and the IDE collapses it away as the default type.
    Debug.Print TypeName(1&)
    Debug.Print TypeName(1!)
    Debug.Print TypeName(1#)
    Debug.Print TypeName(1@)
    Debug.Print TypeName(1.1!)
    Debug.Print TypeName(1.1) '<-- use # here and the IDE collapses it away as the default type.
    Debug.Print TypeName(1.1@)

Integer
Long
Single
Double
Currency
Single
Double
Currency

There are a number of ways where typing a numeric literal explicitly can make a difference. For example it can be a hint to the compiler not to reduce the precision of an expression. Or another example, when calling a Declared DLL entrypoint it can be used with ByVal to tell the compiler what type of data to use as an argument (what to put on the stack):

SomeEntry This, That, ByVal 0&