My Favourite Functions - Part 3

November 19, 2002
By Karl Moore

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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.