How to make a number positive using abs()

Paul Hudson    February 13th 2018    @twostraws

The abs() function returns the absolute value of a number, which is a way of describing how far away from zero it is without thinking about whether it’s positive or negative. It’s most commonly used if you have a number that you need to be positive, because whether you pass 30 or -30 to abs() you get back 30.

In code it’s just this:

let number = -15
let absolute = abs(number)

That will set absolute to 15.

Available from iOS 8.0

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