uCalc API Version: 2.1.3-preview.2 Released: 6/16/2026

Warning

uCalc API Preview Release Notice:The documentation describes the intended behavior of the API. The current preview build contains incomplete features, unoptimized performance, and is subject to breaking changes.

Introduction

Product: 

Fast Math Parser

Class: 

DataType

An overview of the DataType class, which provides metadata and functionality for specific data types within the uCalc engine.

Remarks

⚙️ The DataType Class: Runtime Type Introspection

The DataType class is a first-class object that represents the metadata and behavior of a specific data type within the uCalc engine. It's more than just a simple type identifier; it's an interactive object that holds information about a type's name, size in memory, and associated conversion and formatting logic.

This class is the foundation of uCalc's dynamic type system, providing the tools for runtime introspection, type safety, and the creation of custom data types.

Core Concepts

  • Runtime Introspection: Unlike compile-time type systems (like C#'s typeof or C++'s typeid), uCalc's DataType objects can be retrieved and inspected at runtime using string names or enums via the uCalc.DataTypeOf method. This allows your application to make dynamic decisions based on the types of variables or expression results.

  • Instance-Specific Behavior: Every uCalc instance maintains its own registry of DataType objects. This powerful feature allows you to customize the behavior of a type (e.g., its string representation) in one parser instance without affecting any others.

  • Custom Types: While uCalc comes with a rich set of built-in types, you can define new data types or create aliases for existing ones at runtime using the DataType Constructor. This is essential for building expressive Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs).

Boolean properties

The numeric value for a Boolean when True, and the string to return for True and False can be changed using Define("Boolean:").

For instance, if you want the numeric representation of a Boolean to to be -1, and for it to return Yes and No for true and false when converted to a string, you can do:

uc.Define("Boolean: -1, Yes, No");

If you want the numeric representation of a Boolean to to be 1, and for it to return Correct and Incorrect for true and false when converted to a string, you can do:

uc.Define("Boolean: 1, Correct, Incorrect");

The numeric value for a Boolean when false is always 0.

📖 Class Members

The following properties and methods are available on a DataType object.

MemberDescription
ConstructorCreates a new data type definition within a uCalc instance or an empty placeholder.
BuiltInTypeEnumRetrieves the BuiltInType enumeration member that uniquely identifies a built-in data type.
ByteSizeGets the size, in bytes, that a single value of this data type occupies in memory.
DescriptionGets or sets a user-defined text description for a DataType object.
HandleReturns the internal, low-level handle of the DataType object.
IsCompoundDetermines if the data type represents a compound value, such as a String or Complex number.
IsDefaultGets or sets whether this data type is the engine's default for implicit typing.
ItemRetrieves the underlying Item object that represents this data type.
MemoryIndexReturns the unique, stable index value that identifies the data type object.
NameRetrieves the canonical string name of the data type.
ReleaseUnregisters a custom data type and releases its associated resources.
ResetResets a scalar variable to the default value for its data type.
SetScalarPerforms a low-level copy of a scalar value from a source memory address to a destination address.
SwapScalarValuesEfficiently swaps the values of two uCalc variables of the same underlying data type.
ToStringConverts a value to its string representation, either from a memory address or by parsing a string.
uCalcRetrieves the parent uCalc instance that owns and manages this data type definition.

Examples

Getting data type object with DataTypeOf
				
					using uCalcSoftware;

var uc = new uCalc();
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_16u).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Boolean).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.String).ToString("-1"));

Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u).Name);
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_32).ByteSize);
				
			
255
65535
true
-1
int8u
4
				
					#include <iostream>
#include "uCalc.h"

using namespace std;
using namespace uCalcSoftware;

int main() {
   uCalc uc;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_8u).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_16u).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Boolean).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::String).ToString("-1") << endl;

   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_8u).Name() << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_32).ByteSize() << endl;
}
				
			
255
65535
true
-1
int8u
4
				
					Imports System
Imports uCalcSoftware
Public Module Program
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim uc As New uCalc()
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_16u).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Boolean).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.String).ToString("-1"))
      
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u).Name)
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_32).ByteSize)
   End Sub
End Module
				
			
255
65535
true
-1
int8u
4
Returning the data type of an expression
				
					using uCalcSoftware;

var uc = new uCalc();
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("10 + 20 - 3").Name);
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(" 'What type ' + 'is this?' ").Name);
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("3 < 10").Name);
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("5 + 7 * #i").Name);
Console.WriteLine("---");

uc.DefineFunction("func(x) as string = 'Hello' * 3");
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("func").Name);
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("Int").Name);
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("NonExistantType").Name); // Empty string
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("&&").Name);


				
			
double
string
bool
complex
---
string
int

bool
				
					#include <iostream>
#include "uCalc.h"

using namespace std;
using namespace uCalcSoftware;

int main() {
   uCalc uc;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("10 + 20 - 3").Name() << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(" 'What type ' + 'is this?' ").Name() << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("3 < 10").Name() << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("5 + 7 * #i").Name() << endl;
   cout << "---" << endl;

   uc.DefineFunction("func(x) as string = 'Hello' * 3");
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("func").Name() << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("Int").Name() << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("NonExistantType").Name() << endl; // Empty string
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf("&&").Name() << endl;


}
				
			
double
string
bool
complex
---
string
int

bool
				
					Imports System
Imports uCalcSoftware
Public Module Program
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim uc As New uCalc()
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("10 + 20 - 3").Name)
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(" 'What type ' + 'is this?' ").Name)
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("3 < 10").Name)
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("5 + 7 * #i").Name)
      Console.WriteLine("---")
      
      uc.DefineFunction("func(x) as string = 'Hello' * 3")
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("func").Name)
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("Int").Name)
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("NonExistantType").Name) '// Empty string
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf("&&").Name)
      
      
   End Sub
End Module
				
			
double
string
bool
complex
---
string
int

bool
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