>>>>>>>>>>(1) The short way is to cast the return result to UInteger, and change the return type of GetCrc32() to UInteger
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>IIRC you can't do that cast in VB (although you can in C# using 'unchecked')
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Viv,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I don't know, but I'd be very surprised if it weren't possible
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Just tried this which won't compile:

Dim test As UInteger = DirectCast(Int32.MaxValue, UInteger)

>>>>>>>If it was a valid cast what resulting UInteger would you expect from a negative value signed int ?
>>>>>>>In C#:

unchecked { UInt32 test = ((UInt32)Int32.MinValue); }

>yields 2147483648....
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Firstly, I'm surprised that it yields an even number
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Secondly, if that's the case, I guess you'll need t check whether is was negative, and if so, set the left most bit after the 'cast'
>>>>>
>>>>>But if the signed int is negative then there is no accurate equivalent for an unsigned int ?
>>>>>I'm assuming the C# cast simple treats the 32 bits as being an unsigned value ?
>>>>>FWIW:

unchecked { Int32 test = ((Int32)UInt32.MaxValue);

>gives -1
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Yes, of course, all bits set is signed -1 and unsigned the max value
>>>>
>>>>When the leftmost bit is set in a signed int type, then it is considered as negative
>>>>
>>>>>But if the signed int is negative then there is no accurate equivalent for an unsigned int ?
>>>>
>>>>Viv, this isn't about maths. The crc32 is just a structure that is 32 bits wide
>>>
>>>That's why I said : "I'm assuming the C# cast simple treats the 32 bits as being an unsigned value"
>>>
>>>>If you think about it as a signed 32 bit structure and the leftmost bit is set then the number is negative
>>>>
>>>>If you look at it as an unsigned 32 bit structure, the same pattern is a number >= 0
>>>
>>>I understand that - my point was that, in normal application usage, converting a negative signed int to an unsigned int would not make sense.
>>
>>
>>Well, if the cast does not work, I think I have figured out how to - pardon the syntax - and untested
>>
>>If the number is not negative, I see no problem in converting
>
>What if the unsigned positive value > Int32.MaxValue() ?
>

Not possible - it is a 32 bit wide structure that is interpreted as a signed 32 bit integer