Setting the string length 'Dim strInput as string * 2000 1

[moki]

Hello,

Is there a way to dimension a string length using a variable.

Ex:

Dim strInput as String * 2000

>>Would like to get the same result as above using:

Dim strInput as String * intLength

>>I know VB6 requires a constant but is there a way to set the length of 'strInput' using a variable some other way.

Thank you....

 

[EBGreen]

Why? Why would you need to have the length of a string set at any specific value?

[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]

 

[strongm]

Oh, for use as a buffer in API calls, for one ...

 

[EBGreen]

Hmmm....so would a string of spaces x characters long suffice?

[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]

 

[EBGreen]

Thanks to Strongm's propmting, I found this informative page via google:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...y/en-us/dnw32dev/html/ora_apiprog6_topic1.asp

[red]"... isn't sanity really just a one trick pony anyway?! I mean, all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you are good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit!" - The Tick[/red]

 

[moki]

I am performing the following to replace nulls to spaces in a text file. If I use 'Line Input #1, strInput' the nulls are stripped and the fixed record size is reduced by the number of nulls. I am parsing the text file records, code not shown.
===============================================
Dim strInput As String * 2000
Dim intLength As Integer
Dim lngRec_Loc As Long

intLength = Command()

Open "D:\data\xyz_file.txt" For Random As #1 Len = intLength
Open "d:\data\xyz_99.txt" For Random As #2 Len = intLength

Do Until EOF(1)
lngRec_Loc = lngRec_Loc + 1
Get #1, lngRec_Loc, strInput
strInput = Replace(strInput, Chr(0), "?")
Put #2, lngRec_Loc, strInput
Loop
Close #1, #2
Unload Me
========================================================

I would like to do the following:

intLength = command()
Dim strInput as String * intLength

I know VB6 will not permit this - is there another way to set the string size?

Thanks for your help.

 

[strongm]

Sure, but that's just another way of specifying the length of a string, which is what you were questioning the need for. Another alternative would be a dynamic array of bytes.

 

[TipGiver]

Yes, am array like:

Dim strInput() As String ' watch out the scope of this variable
ReDim strInput (intLenght) As String


-Expanding strondm's suggestion.

 

[BobRodes]

Er...

Dim strInput() as Byte
ReDim strInput(intLength)

Is more in line with strongm's suggestion. He mentions an array of bytes, not of strings.

 

[strongm]

TomThumbKP, you might also be interested in this thread: thread222-558844

 

[TipGiver]

Yes. I used his idea of the "dynamic array",.. not also the type of the array!

 

[moki]

Thank you for the information but it doesn't work with the 'Get #1, lngRec_Loc, strInput' because strInput is now an Array.

The reason I'm doing this is to retain the nulls in the record coming from file #1. I want a 2000 (not always, this will be a general purpose pgm to read diff. fixed length record sizes) chunk from the fixed length records in file #1.

If I Open the file with 'For Input' the nulls drop after reading it into the strInput string causing a problem when I parse the data.

ex: Data
ABCDEFGHI.JKLMNOP.QRSTU (Fixed length record for illustration '.' = null)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU (Open method = 'For Input' drops the nulls)
ABCDEFGHI.JKLMNOP.QRSTU (Open method = 'For Random' retains the nulls)

Using 'As Random' is the only way I know of that will retain the nulls so I can replace them with spaces.

Dim strInput() As Byte '*****
Dim intLength As Integer
Dim lngRec_Loc As Long

intLength = 2000
ReDim strInput(intLength) '*****

Open "D:\xyz_file.txt" For Random As #1 Len = intLength
Open "c:\xyz99_file.txt" For Random As #2 Len = intLength

Do Until EOF(1)
lngRec_Loc = lngRec_Loc + 1
Get #1, lngRec_Loc, strInput ' ******** Out-of-memory error
strInput = Replace(strInput, Chr(0), " ")
Put #2, lngRec_Loc, strInput
Loop
Close #1, #2
Unload Me

Sorry for being so long winded and thank you for all of your responses...I hope I'm making my self clear regarding this request.

 

[Swi]

Have you tried using the filesystem object and the Read method? Make sure to add a reference to Microsoft Scripting Runtime.

Dim f1 As TextStream
Dim f2 As TextStream
Dim fso As New FileSystemObject
Dim strInput As String
Dim intLength As Integer

Set f1 = fspenTextFile(InputFileName, ForReading)
Set f2 = fspenTextFile(outputfilename, ForWriting, True)
intLength = 2000
Do
strInput = f1.read(intLength)
strInput = Replace(strInput, Chr(0), " ")
f2.Write strInput
Loop Until f1.atendofstream

Swi

 

[moki]

Thank you Swi that did the trick. Learning something new everyday..