What does -- sign stands for?

[john27]

Hi,

Considering this formula:

=SUMPRODUCT(--(B4:D4=0);--E4:G4;--H4:J4)

What does -- sign stands for?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards.
John

[daddylonglegs]

Hello John, a "test" like B4:D4=0 returns an "array" of TRUE/FALSE values, e.g.

{TRUE,FALSE,TRUE}

when you use -- in front of that it "co-erces" the FALSE values to zero and the TRUE values to 1 so you get

{1,0,1}

SUMPRODUCT can then use those numeric values

You can use other "co-ercers" like +0 or *1

Note: in your formula, with numbers in E4:J4 you don't need -- for those, i.e. this formula should work

=SUMPRODUCT(--(B4:D4=0);E4:G4;H4:J4)

[john27]

Hello,

Yes, it works the other way too. Thank you for clarifying this out.