VB: Check if Object has “Class” then Execute Code - vb.net

Question

I am looking to find something in Visual Basic that basically states that if something collides with something with a certain class, it executes code. I may not be using correct terms, so when I say object I mean like a label or picture box, and a class is... well like a class in HTML, I guess, like an object with a trait.
The pseudocode would look something like this:
If object.Bounds.IntersectsWith([object with certain class]) Then execute code
Otherwise, the game's 'if' statements will overwhelm... Also I am new to Visual Basic language, so please keep it as simple as possible.
Here is what I have already:
If carblue.Bounds.IntersectsWith(boundary1.Bounds) And directiona = 1 Then
directiona = 0
carblue.Top += 2
ElseIf carblue.Bounds.IntersectsWith(boundary1.Bounds) And directiona = 2 Then
directiona = 0
carblue.Left += 2
ElseIf carblue.Bounds.IntersectsWith(boundary1.Bounds) And directiona = 3 Then
directiona = 0
carblue.Top -= 2
ElseIf carblue.Bounds.IntersectsWith(boundary1.Bounds) And directiona = 4 Then
directiona = 0
carblue.Left -= 2
End If
Where carblue is the object being controlled, boundary1 is the obstacle that stops the car from moving (on collision) and directiona is the value of the direction the car is travelling (1 is up, 2 is left, etc).
(Moved from S.A. Programmers site)

Answer 1

Without actual sample code to work with, it's not easy to provide a specific solution. I don't know how many controls you have moving around, is it 2? 10? 10,000? Assuming you have 10+ controls moving around, this is how I would handle it.
I would use a datatable to keep a record of the Bounds for each Control that moves or is collidable. After a control moves, update that row in the datatable, look for collisions, then check the object types to determine what kind of class the collided object is, and then run the code as needed.
Public MovingControls As DataTable
Sub Main()
'Build the DataTable
MovingControls = New DataTable("ControlBounds")
MovingControls.Columns.Add("Name", GetType(String))
MovingControls.Columns.Add("x1", GetType(Integer))
MovingControls.Columns.Add("x2", GetType(Integer))
MovingControls.Columns.Add("y1", GetType(Integer))
MovingControls.Columns.Add("y2", GetType(Integer))
End Sub
'Call this only when a control/object is created
Sub MovingControlAdded(sender As Control)
Dim Row As DataRow = MovingControls.NewRow
Row("Name") = sender.Name
Dim BoundsRect As Drawing.Rectangle = sender.Bounds
Row("x1") = sender.Bounds.Left
Row("x2") = sender.Bounds.Right
Row("y1") = sender.Bounds.Bottom
Row("y2") = sender.Bounds.Top
MovingControls.Rows.Add(Row)
End Sub
'Call this only when a control/object has moved
Sub MovingControlMoved(sender As Control)
'Update the location of this Control
Dim Row() As DataRow = MovingControls.Select("Name = '" & sender.Name & "'")
'Select returns an array of Rows but there should only be 1 row for each Control
Row(0)("x1") = sender.Bounds.Left
Row(0)("x2") = sender.Bounds.Right
Row(0)("y1") = sender.Bounds.Bottom
Row(0)("y2") = sender.Bounds.Top
'Collision check
Dim CollidedRows() As DataRow = MovingControls.Select("(" & sender.Bounds.Right & " >= x1)" &
"AND (" & sender.Bounds.Left & " <= x2)" &
"AND (" & sender.Bounds.Bottom & " <= y2)" &
"AND (" & sender.Bounds.Top & " >= y1)" &
"AND (Name <> '" & sender.Name & "'")
'Determine the object type and execute necessary code
For Each CollidedRow As DataRow In CollidedRows
Dim CollidedControl As Control = Me.Controls.Item(CollidedRow("Name"))
If CollidedControl.GetType = GetType(Label) Then
'Do stuff for labels
ElseIf CollidedControl.GetType = GetType(Button) Then
'Do stuff for buttons
End If
Next
End Sub
Caveat: This assumes 1 control is moving at a time. If Control A moves into Control B but Control B moves away at the same time, this code will still call a collision even though the collision was avoided. If you have multiple controls moving, you may want to split the MovingControlMoved method into 2 methods, one for updating the table and one for collision checks. Handle all movement first, then handle all collisions.
Depending on the complexity, you may want to create custom classes for collidable controls that inherit an interface for collisions. You can use System.Reflection to call RunMeOnCollision. This would eliminate the list of If statements.
Interface iCollidableBase
Sub RunMeOnCollision()
End Interface
Public Class CollidableLabel
Inherits Label
Implements iCollidableBase
Public Sub RunMeOnCollision() Implements iCollidableBase.RunMeOnCollision
Me.Text = "I have been collided"
End Sub
End Class
Public Class CollidableButton
Inherits Button
Implements iCollidableBase
Public Sub RunMeOnCollision() Implements iCollidableBase.RunMeOnCollision
Me.Text = "Ouch, that collision hurt!"
End Sub
End Class
Again, not knowing the full context here, I can't test my solution against your code. If you can post some additional details, I might be able to help more.
-E

Answer 2

I found what I needed from my programming teacher, using arrays.
In the public sub:
Dim walls(17) As PictureBox
Where 17 is the number of (In this case) boundaries that your form has. Also change PictureBox to the object you are using (for example labels).
Then in your form load:
For i = 1 To 17
walls(i) = Me.Controls("boundary" & i)
Next
I'm honestly not 100% sure about this, but the "boundary" string is a section of the name of my PictureBoxes, that are acting as boundaries. There names are boundary1, boundary2, etc. So you might change "boundary" to what your object's names are.
Next, when you want to check for something using the boundaries, declare
For i = 1 To 17
Then when you want to close checking for it,
Next
For the checking of collisions, use this:
If object.Bounds.IntersectsWith(walls(i).Bounds) Then
So in this case, the If statement would go between the For and Next lines.