I would like to define a custom data type in VBA and use it to create some user-defined constants. For example:
Public Type Person
Name as String
Age as Integer
End Type
Public Sub CreatePerson
Dim singer as Person
singer.Name = "John"
singer.Age = 37
End Sub
I would like to make singer to be constant which will be visible in other subroutines/functions in the same module. Is it possible? If not, how is the best way to store constant values which are connected to each other (like in the example above where Name is connected to Age)?
Here is how I would do it.
Code in a module:
Option Explicit
Public Type Person
Name As String
Age As Integer
End Type
Private cvsinger As Person
Public Function singer() As Person
Static ConstantHasBeenSet As Boolean
If Not ConstantHasBeenSet Then
cvsinger.Name = "John"
cvsinger.Age = 37
End If
singer = cvsinger
End Function
Public Sub CreatePerson()
Debug.Print singer.Name, singer.Age
End Sub
This is a fairly trivial case, but when the code to find the default values takes longer to process the use of ConstantHasBeenSet becomes worthwhile
(Note that I would also use a similar technique for setting default values for properties in a class)
Related
I am creating a method FindPerson which searches for a given name in a list of objects and returns the index in the list of the object with this name if found, otherwise it returns -1.
Public Class TPerson
Private Name As String
Private Address As String
Private Age As Integer
Public Sub New()
Name = "x"
Address = "x"
Age = 0
End Sub
……
End Class
Public Class TGroup
Private Group As List(Of TPerson)
Private GroupSize As Integer
Public Sub New(size As Integer)
GroupSize = size
Group = New List(Of TPerson)
End Sub
Public Sub FindPerson(findname As String)
Dim index As Integer
index = Group.FindIndex(findname) 'error
End Sub
End Class
The output should be an index in the list, however when I run the program I get the error: BC30311 Value of type 'String' cannot be converted to 'Predicate(Of TPerson)'
I am not quite sure how to fix this any help will be appreciated
How exactly do you expect the FindIndex method to know what to do with that String that you are passing in? You seem to assume that it will know that it represents a name and that it needs to match an item by Name property but how do you think it's going to do that? Why do you think it would match on Name rather than Address?
As the error message says, you need to provide a Predicate which is a delegate that takes an object of type T and returns a Boolean. In your case, T is TPerson and the Boolean needs to indicate whether findname matches its Name property. The simplest way to do that is with a Lambda expression:
Dim index = Group.FindIndex(Function(person) person.Name = findname)
You could do it with a named method and a delegate if you wanted to but it would be more long-winded and it would mean getting the findname value in by some convoluted means. If you read the documentation for the FindIndex method (which you should have done before posting here) you can find an example of that sort of thing.
One of the main problems in VBA are custom data structures and lists.
I have a loop which generates with each iteration multiple values.
So as an example:
Each loop iteration generates a string "name" an integer "price" and an integer "value".
In C# for example I'd create a class which can hold these three values and with each loop iteration I add the class object to a list.
How can I do the same thing in VBA if I want to store multiple sets of data when not knowing how many iterations the loop will have (I cant create an array with a fixed size)
Any ideas?
The approach I use very frequently is to use a class and a collection. I also tend to use an interface model to make things more flexible. An example would look something like this:
Class Module IFoo
Option Explicit
Public Sub Create(ByVal Name as String, ByVal ID as String)
End Property
Public Property Get Name() as String
End Property
Public Property Get ID() as String
End Property
This enforces the pattern I want for my Foo class.
Class Module Foo
Option Explicit
Private Type TFoo
Name as String
ID as String
End Type
Private this as TFoo
Implements IFoo
Private Sub IFoo_Create(ByVal Name as String, ByVal ID as String)
this.Name = Name
this.ID = Name
End Sub
Private Property Get IFoo_Name() as String
IFoo_Name = this.Name
End Property
Private Property Get IFoo_ID() as String
IFoo_ID = this.ID
End Property
We get intellisense from the Private Type TFoo : Private this as TFoo where the former defines the properties of our container, the latter exposes them privately. The Implements IFoo allows us to selectively expose properties. This also allows you to iterate a Collection using an IFoo instead of a Foo. Sounds pointless until you have an Employee and a Manager where IFoo_BaseRate changes depending on employee type.
Then in practice, we have something like this:
Code Module Bar
Public Sub CollectFoo()
Dim AllTheFoos as Collection
Set AllTheFoos = New Collection
While SomeCondition
Dim Foo as IFoo
Set Foo = New Foo
Foo.Create(Name, ID)
AllTheFoos.Add Foo
Loop
For each Foo in AllTheFoos
Debug.Print Foo.Name, Foo.ID
Next
End Sub
While the pattern is super simple once you learn it, you'll find that it is incredibly powerful and scalable if implemented properly. It also can dramatically reduce the amount of copypasta that exists within your code (and thus reduce debug time).
You can use classes in VBA as well as in C#: Class Module Step by Step or A Quick Guide to the VBA Class Module
And to to the problem with the array: you can create an array with dynamic size like this
'Method 1 : Using Dim
Dim arr1() 'Without Size
'somewhere later -> increase a size to 1
redim arr1(UBound(arr1) + 1)
You could create a class - but if all you want to do is hold three bits of data together, I would define a Type structure. It needs to be defines at the top of an ordinary module, after option explicit and before any subs
Type MyType
Name As String
Price As Integer
Value As Integer
End Type
And then to use it
Sub test()
Dim t As MyType
t.Name = "fred"
t.Price = 12
t.Value = 3
End Sub
i found few new style (for me) to "define" output from select query.
Private Enum Item
ID
Item
Description
End Enum
Private Class Item
Private ID as String
Private Item as String
Private Desc as String
End Class
I 'm thinking of using either one of them. by using class i does not need to re-cast the element type before i display. but Enum seems like easier to understand.
Anyone have some suggestion how to decide?
Enum members are numeric (usually integer, but can be long). But they are not variable and do not change at runtime. So your enum equates to:
Private Enum Item
ID = 0
Item = 1
Description = 2
End Enum
If you want Description to be a string, then a class is a better idea. Enums are used to reference or index something or limit/define a selection. Like:
Public Property Stooge As Stooges
Friend Enum Stooges
Larry
Moe
Curly
Shemp
CurlyJoe
End Enum
The Stooge Property must be one of those values. in code it will show you the text ("moe") but store and integer (1). users will be shown the text in drop downs etc.
You can associate a description with Enum constants:
Public Enum Stooges
<Description("Larry - Funny one")> Larry
<Description("Moe - 'Smart' One")> Moe
<Description("Curly - Sore One")> Curly
<Description("Shemp - One with bad haircut")> Shemp
<Description("CurlyJoe - Last one")> CurlyJoe
End Enum
To get the description for a single one:
Public Shared Function GetDescription(ByVal EnumConstant As [Enum]) As String
Dim fi As Reflection.FieldInfo =
EnumConstant.GetType().GetField(EnumConstant.ToString())
Dim attr() As DescriptionAttribute =
DirectCast(fi.GetCustomAttributes(GetType(DescriptionAttribute),
False), DescriptionAttribute())
If attr.Length > 0 Then
Return attr(0).Description
Else
Return EnumConstant.ToString() ' return enum name if no Descr
End If
End Function
Usage: str = enumHelper.GetDescription(Stooge.Moe) (enumHelper is the name of the calss where the static/shared function resides).
To get a String Array of all the descriptions:
Public Shared Function GetDescriptions(ByVal type As Type) As String()
Dim n As Integer = 0
Dim enumValues As Array
Try
enumValues = [Enum].GetValues(type)
Dim Descr(enumValues.Length - 1) As String
For Each value As [Enum] In enumValues
Descr(n) = GetDescription(value)
n += 1
Next
Return Descr
Catch ex As Exception
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
Return Nothing
End Try
End Function
Usage: Dim strEnum As String() = enumHelper.GetDescriptions(GetType(Stooges))
From your question, what you really mean is Struct vs Class. I would default to creating a class. The main reason to use a struct vs a class, is when you need value semantics -- assignment/parameters copies the bits, not a pointer. This is fairly rare in my experience. Unless you have a compelling reason (and you know the difference), go with a class.
I have defined a variable with an own type, say
Dim point As DataPoint
Public Type DataPoint
list as Collection
name as String
number as Integer
End Type
and I want to delete all values of the variable point at once. If it was a class, I would just use Set point = New DataPoint, or set Set point = Nothing, but how can I proceed if it's a type?
You can benefit from the fact that functions in VB have an implicit variable that holds the result, and that contains the default type value by default.
public function GetBlankPoint() as DataPoint
end function
Usage:
point = GetBlankPoint()
The standard way is to reset each member to its default value individually. This is one limitation of user-defined types compared to objects.
At the risk of stating the obvious:
With point
Set .list = Nothing
.name = ""
.number = 0
End With
Alternatively, you can create a "blank" variable and assign it to your variable each time you want to "clear" it.
Dim point As DataPoint
Dim blank As DataPoint
With point
Set .list = New Collection
.list.Add "carrots"
.name = "joe"
.number = 12
End With
point = blank
' point members are now reset to default values
EDIT: Damn! Beaten by JFC :D
Here is an alternative to achieve that in 1 line ;)
Dim point As DataPoint
Dim emptyPoint As DataPoint
Public Type DataPoint
list As Collection
name As String
number As Integer
End Type
Sub Sample()
'~~> Fill the point
Debug.Print ">"; point.name
Debug.Print ">"; point.number
point.name = "a"
point.number = 25
Debug.Print ">>"; point.name
Debug.Print ">>"; point.number
'~~> Empty the point
point = emptyPoint
Debug.Print ">>>"; point.name
Debug.Print ">>>"; point.number
End Sub
SNAPSHOT
One-liner:
Function resetDataPoint() As DataPoint: End Function
Usage:
point = resetDataPoint()
Another option is to use the reserved word "Empty" such as:
.number= Empty
The only issue is that you will need to change the number from integer to variant.
Using classes in VBA is usually a good practice in case it is not a single purpose solution or the class do not contain too many private attributes because if you want to adhere on OOP rules and keep your class safe, you should declare all the Let and Get properties for all private attributes of class. This is too much coding in case you have more than 50 private attributes. Another negative side of using classes in excel is fact, that VBA do not fully support the OOP. There is no polymorfism, overloading, etc.) Even you want to use an inheritance, you have to declare all the attributes and methods from the original class in the inherited class.
So in this case I would prefer the solution suggested by Jean-François Corbett or GSeng, i.e. to assign an empty variable of the same UDT as the variable you want to clear or to use a function which to me seems little bit more elegant solution because it will not reserve permanent memory for the emtpy variable of your UDT type.
For that is better to use classes, you can declare a class module with the name of your type, then declare all of your members as public, then automatically you can set to nothing and new for create and delete instances.
syntax will be somthing like this after you create the class module and named like your type:
'
Public List as Collection
Public Name as String
Public Number as Long
Private Sub Class_Initialize()
'Here you can assign default values for the public members that you created if you want
End Sub
Is there anything wrong with the following code ? It failed on Form_Load() line , and complains about it.
Private Sub Form_Load()
Type Human
Name As String
End Type
Dim stu As Student
With Human:
.Name = "Someone"
End With
Debug.Print ("Name: " & stu.Name)
End Sub
You have two options:
1
Create a new class
Private Class Human
Public Name As String
End Class
(Obviously it would be better to wrap the Name in a public property, but for simplicity, exposing it as a public variable is easier.)
2
Create a new struct:
Structure Human
Dim Name As String
End Structure
Note
It should be noted that both of these options must be done outside of the function, not within Form_Load function
The keyword is no longer Type; it is Structure now. Type was used in VB6 and earlier, but not in .NET.