Visual Basic 2005 Variables
A variable has a name and a value and stores values during program execution. In todays programming languages variables are not just names or placeholders for values. They also store and also possess a value.
In a program, variables must be declared in advance. If the compiler is informed of all the variables and their types, it can produce the most compact and efficient code.
With VB .Net and 2005, variables should be declared by default. Microsoft VB compiler throws an exception if it comes across an undeclared variable.
When we declare a variable, we must also specify its type. One of the new terms in the VB 2005 documentation is "strictly typed", which means that a variable has a specific type and you cannot store a value of different type to the variable.
When we declare a variable we are actually telling the compiler the type of data we intend to store in each variable. This way the compiler can generate the code that handles the variables most efficiently. A variable that holds characters is different from a variable that holds numbers.
Dim minMarks As Integer 35
This statement is equal to the following two statements.
Dim minMarks As Integer
minMarks = 35
Numeric
String
Boolean
date
Object
The two major variable categories are numeric and string. Numeric variables store numbers, string variables stores text and Object variables store any type of data.
Integers
Decimals
Single
Double
Decimal, Single and Double are the three basic data types for storing floating point numbers. The double type can represent these numbers more accurately than the single type and it is used almost exclusively in scientific calculations.
The Short data type is the same as the integer data type of vb6. The new Integer data type is the same as the long data type of VB6; The VB.Net Long data type is new and can represent extremely large integer values. The Decimal data type is new to VB.Net, and you use it when you want to control the accuracy of the calculations in terms of number of decimal digits.
Variables in VB 2005 are case insensitive. For example the variable names strName, strname, STRNAME all refer to the same variable in the code.
Scope is the section of the software program in which the variable is visible and can be manipulated. Along with a type, a variable also has a scope. When a variable is declared within a procedure, only that procedure has access to that variable. This is called a local variable because it the variable´s scope is limited to the particular procedure.
Following is the vb code for the Click event of a Button to calculate the sum of all numbers in the range 0 to 50.
The variables 'i' and 'Total are local variables. If we are accessing the value of the 'Total' variable from another procedure, Visual Basic will return an error message that the variable is not declared.
The 'Total' variable is said to have procedure-level scope. It's visible within the procedure and invisible outside the procedure.
Another type of scope is the Block-Level scope. It is used in a If statement or while loop or for loop. A block level scope is visible only in a block of vb code.
The i variable is not visible outside the block of the if..End If loop. If we attempt to use it before the If statement, or after the End If statement, VB will throw an exception.
When the procedure ends, the local variables cease to exist and the allocated memory is returned to the system. When the same procedure is called again the local variables are recreated and initialized. If a procedure calls another procedure, its local variables retain their values while the called procedure is running. With the Static keyword we can force a local variable to preserve its value between procedures.
Using the function RunAvg(), we can keep a running value in memory. An example is shown below.
We must declare the variables RunTotal and NumofItems outside the function so that their values are preserved between calls. We can also declare them in the function with the Static keyword, as shown below.
In VB6 we could declare all the variables in a procedure as static by prefixing the procedure definition with the keyword Static. This option is no longer available with the versions of VB.NET.
Note that variables declared in a module and outside a procedure take effect when the form is loaded and ceases to exist when the form is unloaded. If the form is loaded again, its variables are initialized, as if it is being loaded for the first time.
Variables are initialized when they are declared, according to their type. Numeric variables are initialized to zero, string variables are initialized to a blank string, and Object variables are initialized to nothing. If the variable is declared with an initializer (as in Dim i As Integer 50) it is initialized to the specified value.
Declaring Variables
To declare a variable use the Dim statement followed by the variables name, As keyword, and its type.In a program, variables must be declared in advance. If the compiler is informed of all the variables and their types, it can produce the most compact and efficient code.
With VB .Net and 2005, variables should be declared by default. Microsoft VB compiler throws an exception if it comes across an undeclared variable.
When we declare a variable, we must also specify its type. One of the new terms in the VB 2005 documentation is "strictly typed", which means that a variable has a specific type and you cannot store a value of different type to the variable.
When we declare a variable we are actually telling the compiler the type of data we intend to store in each variable. This way the compiler can generate the code that handles the variables most efficiently. A variable that holds characters is different from a variable that holds numbers.
Variable initialization
We can also initialize variables in the same line that declares them. The following line declares an integer variable and initialize it to 35.Dim minMarks As Integer 35
This statement is equal to the following two statements.
Dim minMarks As Integer
minMarks = 35
Types of variables
Visual Basic recognizes the following five categories of variables.Numeric
String
Boolean
date
Object
The two major variable categories are numeric and string. Numeric variables store numbers, string variables stores text and Object variables store any type of data.
Numeric variables
All programming languages provide a variety of numeric data types, including the following:Integers
Decimals
Single
Double
Decimal, Single and Double are the three basic data types for storing floating point numbers. The double type can represent these numbers more accurately than the single type and it is used almost exclusively in scientific calculations.
The Short data type is the same as the integer data type of vb6. The new Integer data type is the same as the long data type of VB6; The VB.Net Long data type is new and can represent extremely large integer values. The Decimal data type is new to VB.Net, and you use it when you want to control the accuracy of the calculations in terms of number of decimal digits.
Variables in VB 2005 are case insensitive. For example the variable names strName, strname, STRNAME all refer to the same variable in the code.
Scope is the section of the software program in which the variable is visible and can be manipulated. Along with a type, a variable also has a scope. When a variable is declared within a procedure, only that procedure has access to that variable. This is called a local variable because it the variable´s scope is limited to the particular procedure.
Following is the vb code for the Click event of a Button to calculate the sum of all numbers in the range 0 to 50.
Private Sub Buttonl_Click(ByVal sender As Object, - ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Buttonl.Click Dim i As Integer Dim Total As Integer For i = 0 to 50 Step 1 Total = Total + i Next MsgBox "The Total is" & Total End Sub
The variables 'i' and 'Total are local variables. If we are accessing the value of the 'Total' variable from another procedure, Visual Basic will return an error message that the variable is not declared.
The 'Total' variable is said to have procedure-level scope. It's visible within the procedure and invisible outside the procedure.
Another type of scope is the Block-Level scope. It is used in a If statement or while loop or for loop. A block level scope is visible only in a block of vb code.
If total < 100 Then Dim i As Integer i = sum + i End If
The i variable is not visible outside the block of the if..End If loop. If we attempt to use it before the If statement, or after the End If statement, VB will throw an exception.
Scope of a variable
Another type of scope is the module-level scope. Variables declared outside any procedure in a module are visible from within all procedures in the same module, but they're invisible outside the module. Setting variables from within many procedures can complicate the debugging of the software program. The following vb code demonstrates the module level scope.Public Class class1 Shared x As Integer Shared Sub New() x=0 End Sub End Class
The Lifetime of a Variable
The period which a variable holds a value is called the lifetime of a variable. This is in addition to to type and scope. Variables declared as Public exist for the lifetime of the software program. Local variables, declared within procedures with the Dim or Private statement, are alive as long as the procedure.When the procedure ends, the local variables cease to exist and the allocated memory is returned to the system. When the same procedure is called again the local variables are recreated and initialized. If a procedure calls another procedure, its local variables retain their values while the called procedure is running. With the Static keyword we can force a local variable to preserve its value between procedures.
Using the function RunAvg(), we can keep a running value in memory. An example is shown below.
Function RunAvg(ByVal dblValue As Double) As Double RunTotal =RunTotal + dblValue NumofItems = NumofItems + 1 RunAvg= RunTotal / NumofItems End Function
We must declare the variables RunTotal and NumofItems outside the function so that their values are preserved between calls. We can also declare them in the function with the Static keyword, as shown below.
Function RunAvg(ByVal dblValue As Double) As Double Static RunTotal As Double Static NumofItems As Integer RunTotal =RunTotal + dblValue NumofItems = NumofItems + 1 RunAvg= RunTotal / NumofItems End Function
In VB6 we could declare all the variables in a procedure as static by prefixing the procedure definition with the keyword Static. This option is no longer available with the versions of VB.NET.
Note that variables declared in a module and outside a procedure take effect when the form is loaded and ceases to exist when the form is unloaded. If the form is loaded again, its variables are initialized, as if it is being loaded for the first time.
Variables are initialized when they are declared, according to their type. Numeric variables are initialized to zero, string variables are initialized to a blank string, and Object variables are initialized to nothing. If the variable is declared with an initializer (as in Dim i As Integer 50) it is initialized to the specified value.
