ASC
===

Function
--------

**ASC** returns the decimal ASCII value of the first character of a
string variable. For a list of ASCII codes used with HUNTER Basic see
:doc:`../appendix/ascii-character-set`.

Syntax
------

ASC("STRING")

Examples
--------

::

   Y = ASC(X$(3))

   PRINT ASC("A")

will print 65

::

   10 T$="AB"
   20 PRINT ASC(T$)

will also print 65, since "A" is the first character.

Remarks
-------

The string argument must be enclosed in parentheses.

ASC is particularly useful for detecting special characters like control
codes, and/or distinguishing them from digits 0-9 or characters A-Z.