>Then why all the PEMSTATUS and VARTYPE stuff if TYPE is all you need?

PEMSTATUS() also lets you check whether a method exists before you call it. I use it a lot in framework code.

As for VARTYPE(), we have it because we asked for it. Using TYPE() correctly is tricky--do you need quotes or not? VARTYPE() is easier and faster, though it's meant only for cases when you already know the thing exists. I use it on parameters a lot.

Tamar