In the same vein as should 1/2 equal 0.5: should (1 << 1000) produce a long int? (It currently produces 0 on a machine with 32 bit integers) (1L << 1000) or (1 << 1000L) work just fine btw. -- Brian Kelley (505) 982-7884 ext 207 Bioreason, Inc kelley at bioreason.com 105 Washington #303, Santa Fe NM, 87501