VISUAL BASIC
Variables-Operations
May 2002
Variable
Memory location whose value can change as the
program is running.
Used to hold temporary information
Used to control the type of data used in
calculations
Can Store only one piece of data at any time
Data is processed faster
Data Types
Integer - Whole numbers - 2 bytes - +/- 32,767
Long - Whole numbers - 4 bytes - +/- 2 billion
Single - Decimal - 4 bytes - +/- 1E-45 to 2E38
Double - Decimal - 8 bytes - +/- 5E-324 to 1.8E308
Currency - 15 left, 4 right of decimal - 8 bytes - +/- 9E14
String - Text - 1 byte per character - 65,400 chars for fixed strings, 2
billion for dynamic strings
Byte - Whole numbers - 1 byte – 0 to 255
Boolean - Logical values - 2 bytes - True or false
Date - Date and time - 8 bytes - 1/1/100 to 12/31/9999
Object - OLE objects - 4 bytes - N/A
Variant - Any preceding type - 16 bytes+1 byte per character - N/A
Use of Appropriate Data Type
Integer or Long - Used to store whole numbers
Single, Double, Currency - Used to store numbers
with a decimal fraction
String - Used to store strings
Boolean - Used to store Boolean values (True and
False)
Date - Used to store date and time information
Object - Used to store a reference to an object
Byte - Used to store binary data
Variant - Flexible, but not efficient
Variable Names
Can be no longer than 255 characters
Can not be a reserved word
Should be meaningful
First three characters should represent the
data type or should start with a letter
Remainder of name should represent the
variable’s purpose. No spaces, periods, or
other punctuation characters are allowed
Three-Character Ids
Byte byt Long lng
Boolean bln Object obj
Currency cur
Single sng
String str
Date/Time dtm
Variant vnt
Double dbl
Integer int
Variable Declaration
Dim variablename [As datatype] [,
variablename2 [As datatype2]]
Public variablename [As datatype]
Private variablename [As datatype]
Static variablename [As datatype]
Assigning Values to Variables
Assignment statement
variablename = value
Examples:
sngHours = 38.5
curBonus = curSales * .1
strName = “Susan”
Scope of a Variable
Indicates which procedures can use the
variable
Determined by where the Dim or Public
statement is entered
Can be either global, form-level, or local
Local Variables
Created with the Dim statement
The Dim statement is entered in an
object’s event procedure
Only the procedure in which it is
declared can use the variable
Removed from memory when the
procedure ends
Form Level Variables
Created with the Dim/Private statement
The Dim statement is entered in a form’s
General declarations section
Can be used by any of the procedures in
the form
Removed from memory when the
application ends
Global Variables
Created with the Public statement
The Public statement is entered in a code
module’s General declarations section
Used in multi-form projects and can be used
by any of the procedures in any of the project’s
forms
Removed from memory when the application
ends
Static Variables
Can be used to preserve the variable value for
the procedures to be called multiple times
Static Sub Test()
Dim x As Integer
Debug.Print x
x = 1234
Debug.Print x
End Sub
(1st run: 0 and 1234; 2nd run: 1234 and 1234)
Variable Arrays
Group of variables of same type
Dim x1 As Currency, x2 As Currency
Dim x3 As Currency, x4 As Currency
Dim xtotal As Currency
xtotal=x1+x2+x3+x4
Dim x (1 to 4) As Currency
Dim xtotal As Currency
xtotal=0
For xcounter = 1 to 4
xtotal=xtotal+x(xcounter)
Next xcounter
Option Explicit Statement
Doesn’t allow you to create variables “on the fly”
Enter in every form’s, and every code module’s,
General declarations section
Use Tools, Options, Editor tab, Require
Variable Declaration to have Visual Basic
include Option Explicit in every new form and
module
If you fail to define a variable you will receive an
error message “Variable not defined”
Constants
Literal constant
an item of data whose value cannot change
while the program is running
7
“Janet”
Symbolic constant
a memory location whose contents cannot
be changed while the program is running
conPi
conRate
Creating a Symbolic Constant
A memory location whose value cannot
change during run time
Syntax: [Public] Const constname [As
datatype] = expression
Examples:
Const conPi As Single = 3.141593
Public Const conMaxAge as Integer = 65
Scope of a Symbolic Constant
Indicates which procedures can use the
symbolic constant
Global: Public Const statement in a code
module’s General declarations section
Form-level: Const statement in the form’s
General declarations section
Local: Const statement in an event procedure
Assignment Statements
IntNumStudents=25
numeric literal
StrTopStudent=“June”
string literal
IntAvgScore=TotScore/NumStudents
mathematical expression
StrSpouseName=“Mrs. ” & “Tina Fortner”
string expression
StrCapitalName=Ucase$(“Chris”)
return value of a function
Operator Order of Precedence
^ exponentiation
- negation
*, / multiplication and division
\ integer division
Mod modulus arithmetic
+, - addition and subtraction
Order is from left to right for same order or
precedence. Parentheses can be used to
override the order or precedence.
Function
A predefined Visual Basic procedure
A function returns a value
Val and Format are two examples of
Visual Basic’s intrinsic functions
Val Function
Val function - returns the numeric equivalent of a
string
Syntax: Val(string)
This Val function: Would be converted to:
Val(“456”) 456
Val(“24,500”) 24
Val(“24.500”) 24.5
Val(“$56.8”) 0
Val(“A”) 0
Val(“”) 0
String Concatenation
Ampersand - &
Examples: (Assume strFirstName contains “Mary”
and sngSales contains 1000)
“Hello “ & strFirstName
strFirstName & “ sold $“ & sngSales & “.”
Results:
Hello Mary
Mary sold $1000.
Newline Character
Chr(13) & Chr(10) - issues a carriage return
followed by a line feed
vbNewLine - one of Visual Basic’s intrinsic
constant
An intrinsic constant is one that is built into the
Visual Basic language
Len Function
You can use the Len function to
determine the number of characters
contained in a text box or a variable
Syntax: Len(textbox.Text)
SelStart Property of a Text Box
Tells Visual Basic where to position the
insertion point
Syntax: object.SelStart [ = index]
The first position is position (index) 0
SelLength Property of a Text Box
Tells Visual Basic how many characters
to select
Syntax: object.SelLength [ = number]
Highlighting Existing Text
Use the following two lines of code:
textbox.SelStart = 0
textbox.SelLength = Len(textbox.Text)
Enter the lines of code in the text box’s
GotFocus event, which occurs when an object
receives the focus
Change Case
All upper case letters: Ucase
All lower case letters: Lcase
Dim str1 As String, str2 As String
Dim str3 As String, str4 As String
s1 = "çğıiöşü"
s2 = "ÇĞIİÖŞÜ"
s3 = UCase(s1) ‘ÇĞıIÖŞÜ
s4 = LCase(s3) ‘çğiİöşü
MsgBox (s1 & vbNewLine & s3)
MsgBox (s2 & vbNewLine & s4)
Searching a String –
Insrt - First Occurrence
InStr(StartPos, sourcestr, searchstr)
StrChrPos = InStr(1,“I’ll see you next Tuesday.”, “you”)
Result is 10
StrChrPos = InStr(9, “I’ll see you next Tuesday.”, “e”)
Result is 15
Searching a String –
InStrRev - Last Occurrence
InStr(StartPos, sourcestr, searchstr)
StrChrPos = InStrRev(“I’ll see you next Tuesday.”, “e”)
Result is 21
StrChrPos = InStrRev(“I’ll see you next Tuesday.”, “l”)
Result is 4
Extracting Pieces of a String
Left(string, length) : Retrieves a specified number of
characters from the left end of a string
Right(string, length) : Retrieves a specified number of
characters from the right end of a string
Mid(string, start [, length]) : Retrieves characters from
the middle of a string
Dim AnyString, MyStr
AnyString = "Hello World" ' Define string.
MyStr = Left(AnyString, 7) ' Returns "Hello W".
MyStr = Right(AnyString, 7) ' Returns “o World".
MyStr = Mid(AnyString, 2, 3) ' Returns “ell".
Replacing Characters in a String
Mid can be used to replace part of a string.
Dim AnyString, MyStr
AnyString = "Hello World" ' Define string.
Mid(AnyString, 2) = “aaa” ' Returns “Haaao World".
Mid statement preserves the original length of the
string. If the space remaining between the starting
position and the end of the string is less than the
length of the replacement string, only the leftmost
characters are used from the replacement string.
Getting Rid of Spaces
LTrim(string) : Removes the spaces from the
beginning of a string
RTrim(string) : Removes the spaces from the end of a
string
Trim(string) : Removes the spaces from both the
beginning and end of a string
Dim AnyString, MyStr
AnyString = “ Hello World" ' Define string.
MyStr = LTrim(AnyString) ' Returns "Hello World".
Format Function
Format function - returns a formatted expression
Syntax: Format(expression, format)
Some of Visual Basic’s predefined formats:
Currency
Fixed
Standard
Percent
Format
FormatCurrency(1234) or
Format(1234, “Currency”)
$1,234.00 or 1.234,00 TL
Format(1234, “$#,###.00”)
$1,234.00 (According to OS)
FormatNumber(1234)
1,234.00 or 1.234,00
FormatDateTime(“20:10”,vbLongTime)
20:10:00
Named Format and Descriptions
General Number: No special formatting
Currency: Thousands separator, two digits to the right of the decimal
Fixed: At least one digit to the left and two digits to the right of the decimal
Standard: Thousands separator, at least one digit to the left and two digits
to the right of the decimal
Percent: Multiplies by 100 and follows number by % sign
Scientific: Standard scientific notation
Yes/No: Displays Yes for a nonzero value.
True/False: Displays True for a nonzero value.
On/Off: Displays On for a nonzero value.
Codes for Numeric Formats
0 – Digit placeholder: Displays the digit or 0 if no digit.
9 – Digit placeholder: Displays the digit or displays nothing if no
digit. (omits leading and trailing zeros)
. – Decimal separator: Indicates where the decimal point is
displayed.
, – Thousands separator: Indicates where the separators are
displayed.
% – Percentage indicator: Indicates where a percent sign is
displayed. (number multiplied by 100)
E-,E+ - Scientific notation: With E- a minus sign is displayed next
to negative exponents, no sign for positive.
Named Date and Time Formats
General Date: Displays date and time if expression contains both.
Long Date: Displays the day of the week, the day of the month, the
month and the year.
Medium Date: Displays the day of the month, a three-letter
abbreviation for the month and the year.
Short Date: Displays the day, month, the month and year.
Long Time: Displays hours, minutes, and seconds along with the
AM/PM indicator.
Medium Time: Displays hours and minutes along with the AM/PM
indicator.
Short Time: Displays hours and minutes in military time.
Other Functions
(MonthName(Month(Now))) ‘ Returns Mart
Change to Date
Cdate(“November 23, 1963”)‘ Returns 11/23/63
Add Dates
MsgBox (DateAdd(“m”, 1, Now())) ‘ Returns 04.04.2002 10:00
Subtract Dates
(DateDiff(“m”, Now, “5.5.2002”)) ‘ Returns 2 (5-3)
Round a numeric expression to a specified number of decimal places.
Round(202.5) ‘ Returns 202
Round(202.56) ‘ Returns 203
Credit Payment Example
Credit Payment Example
Use object names as:
lblPrincipal, txtPrincipal
lblInterest, txtInterest
lblPeriod, txtPeriod
lblPayment, txtPayment
cmdCalcul
cmdExit
Result will be: 50.388
Credit Payment Example
Private Sub cmdCalcul_Click()
Dim dPrincipal As Double, dPayment As Double
Dim dInterest As Double, dPeriod As Double, dTerm As Double
dPrincipal = Val(Replace(Replace(txtPrincipal.Text, ",", ""), ".", ""))
dInterest = Val(txtinterest.Text) / 100
dPeriod = Val(txtPeriod.Text)
dTerm = dPeriod * 12
txtPrincipal.Text = Format(dPrincipal, "###,###,###,###")
dPayment = dPrincipal * (dInterest / (1 - (1 + dInterest) ^ (0 - dTerm)))
txtPayment.Text = Format(dPayment, "###,###,###,###")
End Sub
Credit Payment Example
Private Sub cmdExit_Click()
End
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Load()
txtPrincipal.Text = "100000"
txtinterest.Text = 50
txtPeriode.Text = 1
End Sub
