IS 118 Introduction to

Development Tools
VB Chapter 04

IS 118

Chapter 4
Data, Operations, and Built-In
Functions
Visual Basic. NET

Copyright (c) 2003 by Prentice Hall

Objectives
Differentiate

among different types of data

Declare data types properly for constants
and variables
Appreciate the importance of having the
IDE check variables for their declaration
Differentiate and appreciate the
implications of the scope and lifetime of
variables under different declarations
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Objectives
Understand

the nature of the assignment

statement
Recognize and use various arithmetic
expressions and functions
Understand the usefulness of strict type
checking
Recognize and use various string functions
Understand better how data and VB controls are
used together in a project
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Classification of Data
MsgBox(Your
Text

age is & 24)

in quotation marks is a string

Text

can be manipulated, but no computations

Numeric

data can be used for computation

Data

must be kept in memory before it can

be retrieved for manipulation,
computation, or display

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Using Memory Locations

Give

memory locations a name and refer

to the name
If data expected to change, classify as
variable
If data not expected to change, classify as
constant
Named

constant: a constant given a name and

referenced accordingly
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Declaring Constants
Some

constants are predefined

Known

as system constants
Examples include True and False
Others

defined and declared before used

Known

as symbolic constants
Must be declared with Const statement
To

declare a constant: Const MyName = Tom

McKenzie
Defines the constant MyName and assigns a value
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Why Use Constants?

Makes

code easier to read and trace

To change the value of a constant, change
it where it is declared
Change

will be reflected throughout system

Name

all constants for your program in

one location

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Declaring Variables
Declared

with the Dim statement

Must give the variable a name
Optionally,
Although

define data type

its only optional, you should specify data

type
Can

use type suffixes for data types

Code

Syntax:

suffixes hard to read and understand

Dim MyID as Long

Defines

a variable named MyID as a long data type

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Checking for Variable Declaration

Option

Explicit statement determines

whether VB requires variable declaration
When

set to Off, VB will not require declaration

Default

is On, so variables must be

declared before they can be used
Get in the habit of requiring declaration

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Why Require Declaration?

An

undeclared or misspelled variable can

give unexpected results
You

can spend hours tracing bugs

Helps

you catch syntax errors

When you use variables in code, VB will
enforce same capitalization as when
declared

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Rules for Declaration

Can

contain any combination of letters and

numbers
Can begin with letter or underscore, but not a
number

Must have at least one letter or digit if it begins with an

underscore

Cannot

contain spaces
If it has same name as a reserved keyword, i.e.
Date, must be enclosed with brackets
Cannot contain embedded periods or data suffix
characters
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Scope and Lifetime of Variables

Scope

refers to how widely variable is

recognized throughout program
Lifetime refers to how long a variable
remains in computer memory

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Class-Level Variables
Code

window associated with form referred to as

class module
Class level variables declared in general
declarations area (before any code is entered)
with Dim statement
Scope: recognized by all procedures in the class
Lifetime: created when form is loaded and
remain in memory until form is destroyed (closed)

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Procedure-Level Variables
Declared

inside a procedure

Also called local variables

Scope:

only recognized within the procedure

Lifetime: depends on how declared

If declared with Dim keyword, reinitialized every time the

procedure is called
String variables reinitialized to an empty string
Numeric variables reinitialized to 0

If declared with Static keyword, values preserved rather

than reinitialized every time the procedure is called

Destroyed when form is destroyed

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Declaration Issues
Block-level

declaration:

If declared within an If block, recognized only within the

block

Overlapping

declarations:

When variable with same name declared at class level

and procedure level, VB uses the memory location with
the narrowest type

Take care not to overlap

In

general, declare variables at narrowest

possible scope
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Access Modifiers
With

class-level variables, you need to

decide whether they will be accessible to
other modules in the project
Instead of declaring with Dim statement,
use Public or Private keyword
Public

access visible to other modules

Public

Private

MyIDNum as Integer

access not visible to other modules

Private

MyIDNum as Integer
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Objects
An

object is actually an instance of a class

Think

of the class as a template

Object is created as an instance of that class
Process

called instantiation

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Declaring Objects
To use

object data types in code is a two-step

process
Declare variable of that class type
Dim

type

M as Math declares M as an variable of Math

Create an instance of that class

requires

the New keyword

M = New Math() associates the variable M with an
instance of the Math object

Can do both in one statement with most objects

Dim

M as New Math() combines the two previous

statements
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Numeric Data and Types

Many

different ways to store and handle

numbers
Precision of data type refers to accuracy in
handling significant digits
Inadequate

precision can lead to significant

rounding error in calculations

Different

types require different amounts

of storage
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Data Types of Limited Values

Byte

uses one character

Often

Char

used to handle ASCII code data

uses two characters

Often

used to handle Unicode code data

Neither

type handles negative numbers

Boolean stores logical value of True or
False
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Data Types for Whole Numbers

Can

handle positive or negative numbers, but no

decimal places
Range of numbers determined by storage size

Short

Integer

Requires 2 bytes of storage

Requires 4 bytes of storage

Long

Requires 8 bytes of storage

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Data Types for Mixed Numbers

Uses

floating point coding scheme

Mantissa: stores base value of data

Exponent: stores how the mantissa is raised (to
the power of 10)

Different

types handle different numbers of

significant digits and need different storage
Single: 7 significant digits (4 bytes storage)
Double: 15 significant digits (8 bytes storage)
Decimal: 29 significant digits (16 bytes storage)

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Characteristics of Numeric Types

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Implicit Type Conversion

Often

bugs are created when the compiler

converts different data types

Can use data conversion functions to explicitly

convert data type by code

Option

Strict On forces you to observe strict

data conversion rules

You can implicitly convert from narrower type to

wider (e.g., from Integer to Long)

To convert to narrower type, use data conversion

functions

You

should use this option to avoid

unexpected data conversion errors
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Assignment Statement
OvertimePay

= StandardPay * 1.5 moves data

resulting from the operation on the right side to
the memory location on the left

Variable on right must be properly declared before

operation can be moved to left
Variable on left must have the capacity to handle the
result of the operation on the right

if not, an overflow error occurs

Left side must be a variable or a control property whose

value can be set at run time

txtOT.Text = StandardPay * 1.5 is a valid assignment

statement

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Numeric Operations
Code

on right side referred to as expression

Can be a constant, a variable, or any numeric

operation

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Operational Precedence
Order

of Preference

Power
Unary negation
Multiplication and division
Integer division
Mod
Addition and subtraction

To enforce

a different order or eliminate confusion,

enclose expression in parentheses

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An Application Example:
Computing Net Sales
Analyze

and define requirements

An application to compute net receipts

Determine

Mainly labels and text boxes

Right align text boxes so decimal places line up

Declaring

controls needed

variables and constants

Use variables to hold data entered into text boxes

Use a constant to hold credit card processing rate
Use variables to hold net processing and net receipts
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An Application Example:
Computing Net Sales
Computations
Decide

when to store information entered in text

boxes
Create formulas for computation
Decide how to display result of computations
Format

function displays results with defined format

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Computing Total Receipts

CreditCardRate defined as class-level

constant

FmtStandard defined as class-level

constant

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The Visual Interface

All text boxes have the

same format, right-aligned
with two decimal places

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Built-In Numeric Functions

Mathematical

Functions

Rnd function generates a random number >= 0.0 and <

1.0

Often used in simulations

Math

Object contains many built-in methods for

computations

Examples include Abs (absolute value) and Sqrt (square

root)

Date/Time

functions return a number of date or

time related values

Today returns the system date as defined on the computer

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Conversion Functions
Used

to explicitly convert a variable from

one data type to another

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String Data
Declared

with the String data type

All strings are variable-length strings
String Operations:
Concatenation

combines 2 strings
Valid concatenation operators: & and +
If

you use + and either string contains only numbers,

you will get unexpected results
You should always use & to concatenate

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Common String Functions

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An Application Example:
The Calculating Vending Machines
Analyze

and define the requirements

A form a user can use to purchase items
User

will select an item from a list box

Setting

Up the Vending Machine

Use the Items.Add method of the list
Create

2 columns in the list by including a tab

character (vbTab) between item and price
Use the With block to add multiple items save
keystrokes adding the items

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Application Example:
The Calculating Vending Machine
Determining

the Item Chosen

Must

determine name chosen

Must also determine price for item
Displaying

Selected Items

If

user selects more than one item, must

concatenate into a single string

Obtaining
Price

the Price

will be a string in the list box

Must

convert into a number

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Application Example:
The Calculating Vending Machine
Accumulating the total
When user selects an item, the cost must be added to
the accumulated total
Declaring variables
Give special consideration to scope and type

Precision will be very important

Checking out
Need a mechanism to allow user to indicate he/she has
finished ordering
Need a routine in case the user checks out without
buying anything
Reinitialize class-level variables after checking out
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Loading the Form

Class-level variables used by several

event procedures

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Calculating Items Bought

Tab divides line into

fields, use InStr function
to find Tab
Add carriage return and item to
class-level ItemsBot variable
Accumulate total; must
convert text to single

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Summary

Data can be classified into two broad categories: numeric

and string
Data can be classified into variables and constants
Variables require a name
Constants do not require a name, though it is advisable
Constants declared with keyword Const
Variables declared with either Dim or Static keyword
Variables and constants classified by scope
If declared at class level, recognized by all procedures in
the class
If declared within procedure, recognized only by that
procedure

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Summary

Variables and constants classified by lifetime

If declared at class level, they exist as long as class (form) exists

If declared inside procedure with Dim keyword, reinitialized every time
the procedure is called
If declared inside procedure with Static keyword, they exist as long as
the class exists
If declared inside block, they are out of scope as soon as the block is
terminated

Declare variables with as narrow a scope as possible

Declare constants with as broad a scope as possible
Numeric data can be classified into different types, for
different computational needs

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Summary
VB

can perform a wide range of mathematical

operations
VB provides many built-in mathematical,
date/time and data conversion functions
VB provides many functions for manipulating
string data
The Format function can be used to format
numeric data
Use the Option Strict On setting to enforce
explicit data conversion
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