My Favourite Functions - Part 3
VB6 Split Function (VB6 Only)
You can use the Split() function to parse out a string depending on a delimiter.
In other words, using Split(), the string "hello:my:friend" can be broken down into three separate parts and thrown into an array.
Here's an example of its usage:
Dim strTextArray() As StringstrTextArray() = Split("hello:my:friend", ":")MsgBox strTextArray(0)The last message box displays the first element (0) of the array - "hello". The second and third elements will contain the "my" and "friend" values.
So to use the Split() function, follow this syntax:
ArrayToPutInto() = Split(DelimitedString, Delimiter)
Here are a couple of other functions that might interest readers. Look them up in the help if you're interested:
- Join() - this function does the opposite of Split(). It takes an array and puts it all together into one big string, separated by a specified delimiter
- Filter() - returns a subset of array information, dependant on criteria -- MiniMonkey from Somewhere Touching the Big Pond.
Non-VB6 Split Function
One of my favourite functions in Visual Basic 6 is Split (see above). But when I moved to my new job in Cape Town, we moved down to version 5, which doesn't support it. So here's my own mini-version of Split:
Private Sub Command1_Click()Dim x() As Variantx() = WordSplit("Hello:my:friend", ":")For i = LBound(x) To UBound(x)MsgBox x(i)Next iEnd SubPublic Function WordSplit(sWords As String, sDelim As String) As VariantDim sTemp As StringDim vWords() As VariantDim n, nCount As IntegernCount = 0sTemp = sWordsDon = InStr(1, sTemp, sDelim)ReDim Preserve vWords(nCount)If n = 0 Then vWords(nCount) = sTempElse vWords(nCount) = Left$(sTemp, n) If Right(vWords(nCount), 1) = sDelim Then vWords(nCount) = Mid(vWords(nCount), 1, _ Len(vWords(nCount)) - 1) End If sTemp = Mid$(sTemp, n + 1)End IfnCount = nCount + 1Loop Until n = 0WordSplit = vWordsEnd Function-- African Abdul, Cape Town.
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This article was originally published on November 20, 2002