2/13/2017 MicrosoftVisualBasicLesson4:VariablesandDataTypes

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VariablesandDataTypes

IntroductiontoVariables

Overview
When you write a program as a time sheet, you may decide that a user will type her weekly
hours in one box and her salary in another box then another box will display her weekly
salary.Whenyouaredesigningtheprogram,youcannotpredictthenamesofthepeoplewho
willbeusingtheprogramandyoudefinitelycannotknowtheweeklyhourstheywillgetweek
after week. What you have to do is ask the computer to create temporary storage areas that
oneusercanusewhiletheprogramisrunning.Ifthatboxcanbeusedtostoreasalary,when
anotheruserisusingthesameprogram,thatboxshouldbereadytoreceivenewinputs,new
salaryforthatotheruser.

Thecomputermemoryismadeofsmallstorageareasusedtoholdthethingsthataprogram
needswhile it is running. As a programmer, you specify these things, or youprovidethemto
the computer the computer then puts them in these storage areas. When you need one of
them,youletthecomputerknow.Themachinelocateditandmakesitavailabletoyoutouse
asyouseefit.

A variable is a value you are ask the computer to store in its memory while the program is
running.

UsingaVariable
Asstatedalready,avariableisanareaofcomputermemoryyouuseinyourprogram.Touse
a variable, you must give it a name. There are rules you should, and usually must, follow
whennamingyourvariables.Thenameofavariable:

Mustbeginwithaletter
Cannothaveaperiod(rememberthatweusetheperiodtosetapropertyinotherwordstheperiodis
anoperator)
Canhaveupto255characters.Please,justbecauseitisallowed,don'tuse255characters.

Mustbeuniqueinsideoftheprocedureorthemoduleitisusedin(wewilllearnwhatamoduleis)

Once a variable has a name, you can use it as you see fit. For example, you can assign it a
valueandthenusethevariableinyourprogramasifitrepresentedthatvalue.
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PracticalLearning:UsingaVariable
1.StartMicrosoftVisualBasicandcreateanewapplicationusingStandardEXE
2.RightclicktheformandclickViewCode
3.IntheCodeEditor,clickthearrowoftheObjectcomboboxandselectForm
4.Touseavariable,implementtheLoadeventasfollows:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
SomeColor=vbRed

BackColor=SomeColor
EndSub

5.PressF5totesttheapplication.Noticethatitappearsred
6.Afterusingtheform,closeitandreturntoMSVB

VariableDeclaration
Unlike languages referred to as strongly typed, Visual Basic is so flexible you can use any
variable just by specifying its name. When you provide this name, the computer directly
createsanareainmemoryforit.Basedonthis,considerthefollowingcodesection:

PrivateSubForm_Click()
SameColor=vbBlue

SomeColor=vbRed

SumColor=vbRed

BackColor=SameColor
EndSub

PrivateSubForm_KeyDown(KeyCodeAsInteger,ShiftAsInteger)
SameColor=vbBlue

SomeColor=vbRed

SumColor=vbGreen
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BackColor=SumColor
EndSub

PrivateSubForm_Load()
SameColor=vbBlue

SomeColor=vbRed

SumColor=vbGreen

BackColor=SomeColor
EndSub

If you execute this program, when the form displays, it would be painted in red. If the user
clicks the form, it would be painted in blue. If the user presses a key, the form would be
painted in green. There is some confusion in the program. It uses a variable that seems to
haveanamebutinitializethreetimeswithdifferentcolors.VisualBasicallowsyoutodirectly
use any name for a variable as you see fit. Fortunately, to eliminate the possibility of this
confusion, you can first let Visual Basic know that you will be using a certain variable.
InformingVisualBasicaboutavariablepriortousingthatvariableisreferredtoasdeclaringa
variable.Whenavariablehasbeendeclared,justlikethevariablenotdeclared,thecomputer
reservesanareaofmemoryforit.

Todeclareavariable,typetheDimkeyword,likethis:

Dim

OntherightsideofDim,youmusttypeanameforthevariable,followingthesameruleswe
reviewedabove.Hereisanexampleofdeclaringandusingavariable:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimBackgroundColor

BackgroundColor=vbRed

BackColor=BackgroundColor
EndSub

Declaring a variable simply communicates to Visual Basic the name of that variable. You can
still use a mix of declared and notdeclared variable. This is demonstrated in the following
event:

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Once again, the compiler believes that you are using two variables one is called
BackgroundColor and the other is called SomeColor. This can still create a great deal of
confusionbecauseyoumaybetryingtousethesamevariablereferredtotwice.Thesolution
tothispossibleconfusionistotellVisualBasicthatavariablecannotbeusedifithasnotbeen
primarilydeclared.Tocommunicatethis,ontopofeachfileyouuseintheCodeEditor,type

OptionExplicit

ThiscanalsobedoneautomaticallyforeachfilebycheckingtheRequireVariableDeclaration
intheOptionsdialogbox.

PracticalLearning:UsingaVariable
1.OnthemainmenuofMicrosoftVisualBasic,clickTools>Options...
2.ClicktheEditorpropertypage.IntheCodeSettingssection,putacheckmarkinthe
RequireVariableDeclarationcheckbox

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3.ClickOK
4.CloseVisualBasicwithoutsavingtheproject
5.StartMicrosoftVisualBasicandcreateanewapplicationusingStandardEXE
6.RightclicktheformandclickViewCode
7.IntheCodeEditor,clickthearrowoftheObjectcomboboxandselectForm
8.Touseavariable,implementtheLoadeventasfollows:

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9.PressF5totesttheapplication
10.Noticethatyoureceiveanerror:

11.ClickOK

12.OntheStandardtoolbar,clicktheEndbutton

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13.ChangetheLoadeventasfollows:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimBackgroundColor

BackgroundColor=vbRed

BackColor=BackgroundColor
EndSub

14.Afterusingtheform,closeitandreturntoMSVB
15.ClickthearrowoftheProcedurecomboboxandselectClick
Implementtheeventsasfollows

IntroductiontoDataTypes

Introduction
When you decide to use a variable, you are in fact asking the computer to use a certain
amount of space to hold that variable. Since different variables will be used for different
purposes, you should specify the kind of variable you intend to use, then the computer will
figureouthowmuchspaceisneededforaparticularvariable.Eachvariableyouusewillutilize
acertainamountofspaceinthecomputer'smemory.

Before declaring or using a variable, first decide what kind of role that variable will play in
your program. Different variables are meant for different situations. The kind of variable you
wanttouseisreferredtoasadatatype.Tospecifythekindofvariableyouwanttouse,you
typetheAs keyword on the right side of the variable's name. The formula to declare such a
variableis:

DimVariableNameAsDataType

Once you know what kind of variable you will need, choose the appropriate data type. Data
typesareorganizedincategoriessuchasnumbers,characters,orotherobjects.

String
Astringisanemptytext,aletter,awordoragroupofwordsconsidered.Todeclareastring
variable,usetheStringdatatype.Hereisanexample:

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PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryNameAsString
EndSub

After declaring the variable, you can initialize. If you want its area of memory to be empty,
youcanassignittwodoublequotes.Hereisanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryNameAsString

CountryName=""
EndSub

Ifyouwanttostoresomethinginthememoryspaceallocatedtothevariable,assignitaword
orgroupofwordsincludedbetweendoublequotes.Hereisanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryNameAsString

CountryName="GreatBritain"
EndSub

Youcanalsoinitializeastringvariablewithanother.

Boolean
A Boolean variable is one whose value can be only either True or False. To declare such a
variable,usetheBooleankeyword.Hereisanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimIsMarriedAsBoolean
EndSub

AfterdeclaringaBooleanvariable,youcaninitializebyassigningiteitherTrueorFalse.Here
isanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimIsMarriedAsBoolean

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IsMarried=False
EndSub

Like any other variable, after initializing the variable, it keeps its value until you change its
valueagain.

NumericDataTypes

Introduction
A natural number is one that contains only one digit or a combination of digits and no other
character,exceptthoseaddedtomakeiteasiertoread.Examplesofnaturalnumbersare122,
8, and 2864347. When a natural number is too long, such 3253754343, to make it easier to
read, the thousands are separated by a special character. This character depends on the
language or group of language and it is called the thousands separator. For US English, this
character is the comma. The thousands separator symbol is mainly used only to make the
numbereasiertoread.

Tosupportdifferentscenarios,Microsoftprovidesdifferenttypesofnaturalnumbers

Byte
A byte is a small natural positive number that ranges from 0 to 255. A variable of byte type
canbeusedtoholdsmallvaluessuchasaperson'sage,thenumberoffingersonananimal,
etc.

Todeclareavariableforasmallnumber,usetheBytekeyword.Hereisanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimStudentAgeAsByte
EndSub

Integer
AnintegerisanaturalnumberlargerthantheByte.Itcanholdavaluebetween
32,768and32,767.Examplesofsuchrangesare:thenumberofpagesofabook.

Todeclareavariableoftypeinteger,usetheIntegerkeyword.Hereisanexample:

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PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimMusicTracksAsInteger
EndSub

LongInteger
Alongintegerisanaturalnumberwhosevalueisbetween2,147,483,648and2,147,483,642.
Examples are the population of a city, the distance between places of different countries, the
numberofwordsofabook.

Todeclareavariablethatcanholdaverylargenaturalnumber,usetheLongkeyword.Here
isanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimPopulationAsLong
EndSub

DecimalDataTypes

Introduction
Arealnumberisonethatdisplaysadecimalpart.Thismeansthatthenumbercanbemade
oftwosectionsseparatedbyasymbolthatisreferredtoastheDecimalSeparatororDecimal
Symbol. This symbol is different by language, country, group of languages, or group of
countries. In US English, this symbol is the period as can be verifiedfromtheRegional(and
Language)SettingsoftheControlPanelofcomputersofmostregularusers:

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OnbothsidesoftheDecimalSymbol,digitsareusedtospecifythevalueofthenumber.The
number of digits on the right side of the symbol determines how much precision the number
offers.

Single
Asingleisadecimalnumberwhosevaluecanrangefrom3.402823e38and1.401298e45if
thenumberisnegative,or1.401298e45and3.402823e38ifthenumberispositive.

Todeclareavariablethatcanholdsmalldecimalnumberswithnoconcernforprecision,use
theSingledatatype.Hereisanexample:

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PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryNameAsString
DimIsMarriedAsBoolean
DimStudentAgeAsByte
DimTracksAsInteger
DimPopulationAsLong
DimDistanceAsSingle
EndSub

Double
While the Single data type can allow large numbers, it offers less precision. For an even
larger number, Microsoft Visual Basic provides the Double data type. This is used for a
variable that would hold numbers that range from 1.79769313486231e308 to
4.94065645841247e324 if the number is negative or from 1.79769313486231E308 to
4.94065645841247E324ifthenumberispositive.

Todeclareavariablethatcanstorelargedecimalnumberswithagoodlevelofprecision,use
theDoublekeyword.

Inmostcircumstances,itispreferabletouseDoubleinsteadof
Singlewhendeclaringavariablethatwouldholdadecimal
number.AlthoughtheDoubletakesmorememoryspaces
(computermemoryisnotexpensiveanymore(!)),itprovides
moreprecision.
HereisanexampleofdeclaringaDoublevariable:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimDistanceAsDouble
EndSub

Currency
TheCurrencydatatypeisusedforavariablethatcanholdmonetaryvalues.Todeclaresuch
avariable,usetheCurrencykeyword.Hereisanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryNameAsString
DimIsMarriedAsBoolean
DimStudentAgeAsByte
DimTracksAsInteger
DimPopulationAsLong
DimDistanceAsSingle

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DimStartingSalaryAsCurrency
EndSub

OtherDataTypes

Date
A date is a numeric value that represents the number of days that have elapsed since a
determinedperiod.Atimeisanumericvaluethatrepresentsthenumberofsecondsthathave
elapsedinaday.

To declare a variable that can hold either date values, time values, or both, use the Date
keyword.Afterthevariablehasbeendeclared,youwillconfigureittotheappropriatevalue.
Herearetwoexamples:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryNameAsString
DimIsMarriedAsBoolean
DimStudentAgeAsByte
DimTracksAsInteger
DimPopulationAsLong
DimDistanceAsSingle
DimStartingSalaryAsCurrency
DimDateOfBirthAsDate
DimKickOffTimeAsDate
EndSub

Object
AnObjectisalmostanythingelsethatyouwanttouseinyourprogram.Ifyoudon'tspecifya
data type or can't figure out what data type you want to use, you can use the Variant
keywordorletVisualBasicusetheVariantdatatype.

Variant
AVariantcanbeusedtodeclareanykindofvariable.Youcanuseavariantwhenyoucan't
makeupyourmindregardingavariablebut,asabeginningprogrammer,youshouldavoidit.

Hereisatableofvariousdatatypesandtheamountofmemoryspaceeachoneuses:

Datatype Description Range

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Byte 1bytebinarydata 0to255

Integer 2byteinteger
Long 4byteinteger
Single 4bytefloatingpointnumber
Double 8bytefloatingpointnumber
8bytenumberwithfixed
Currency
decimalpoint
Stringofcharacters
String
Date/time,floatingpoint
number,integer,string,or
object.
Variant 16 bytes, plus 1 byte for each String values: same range as String Can
characterifastringvalue.
32,768to32,767
2,147,483,648to2,147,483,647
3.402823E38to1.401298E45
(negativevalues)
1.401298E45to3.402823E38(positive
values)
1.79769313486231E308to
4.94065645841247E324(negative
values)
4.94065645841247E324to
1.79769313486231E308(positivevalues)
922,337,203,685,477.5808to
922,337,203,685,477.5807
Zerotoapproximatelytwobillion
characters
Datevalues:January1,100toDecember
31,9999
Numericvalues:samerangeasDouble
alsocontainErrororNullvalues

Boolean 2bytes TrueorFalse

Date 8bytedate/timevalue January1,100toDecember31,9999
Object 4bytes AnyObjectreference

UsingVariables

DetailsonDeclaringVariables
Wehavelearnedhowtodeclareavariableasfollows:

DimCountryNameAsString

Wealsosawthatwecandeclaredifferentvariableseachonitsownlineasfollows

DimFirstNameAsString
DimLastNameAsString

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DimSalaryAsCurrency
DimAlreadyVisitedAsBoolean

If you have many variables of the same data type, you can declare them on the same line,
eachseparatedwithacomma.Remembertospecifytheircommontype.Hereisanexample:

PrivateSubForm_Load()
DimCountryName,Address,City,StateAsString
DimIsMarriedAsBoolean
DimStudentAgeAsByte
DimTracksAsInteger
DimPopulationAsLong
DimDistanceAsSingle
DimStartingSalary,WeeklyEarningsAsCurrency
DimDateOfBirth,KickOffTimeAsDate
EndSub

Whennamingyourvariables,besidestheabovesuggestions,youcanstartavariable'sname
with one to threeletter prefix that could identify the data type used. Here are a few
suggestions:

DataType Prefix Example
Boolean bln blnFound
Byte byt bytTracks
Date/Time dtm dteStartOfShift
Double dbl dblDistance
Error err errCantOpen
Integer int intNbrOfStudents
Long lng lngPopulation
Object obj objConnection
Single sng sngAge
String str strCountryName
Currency cur curHourlySalary
Variant var varFullName

Constants

Introduction
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A constant is a value that doesn't change. There are two types of constants you will use in
yourprograms:thosesuppliedtoyouandthoseyoudefineyourself.

TheCarriageReturnLineFeedConstant
VisualBasicprovidesthevbCrLf constant. It is used to interrupt a line of code and move to
thenextline.

BuiltinConstants:PI
PIisamathematicalconstantwhosevalueisapproximatelyequalto3.1415926535897932.It
is highly used in operations that involve circles or geometric variants of a circle: cylinder,
sphere,cone,etc.

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