>>>>>>>>>>>>>(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
>>
>>You mean it's not possible for unsigned positives to be larger than an Int32 ? But
>>Int32.MaxValue = 2147483647
>>UInt32.MavValue = 4294967295
>
>
>I gave a wrong answer
>
>
>All the manipulation (and, xor, shift) is done on a 32 bit structure. So you only have 32 bits
>
>In the signed world, the leftmost bit is the sign bit which leaves 31 bits for the 'number'
>In the unsigned world, there is no sign bit, it's >= 0 , which leaves 32 bits for the number
>
>
>So whatever manipulation you do, the data stays in 32 bits
>
>In the end, you 'express' what is in the data. You speak signed language or unsigned language, but the internal representation is the same

I think that's exactly what I've just said on the other thread branch :-}
But that fact remains that there can be no valid cast to Int32 for UInt32 values > Int32.MaxValue.....