ie

$a="$a" converts $a to a string.

$a=$a+10 will not add 10 to $a now, but will put "10" on the end of the string.

so if $a was 3, it becomes "3" and is now "310"

use VAL($a) to return to a number.

If you want to print $a IN a string you can:

"hello, $$a is now $a"

or

"hello, $$a is now " $a

Notice, there is no + anywhere there...

cj