VB Lecture Notes - Methods

Objective #1: Use a call statement to execute a method from another method.

• So far in our study of VB, methods only execute in response to the user performing an event such as clicking the mouse, which executes an object's Click method, or starting the project, which executes the startup form's Load method.
• However, it is possible to execute a method with a statement in another method.
  
  For example, if you have a button that calculates the sum of the values stored in two textboxes such as
  
  Private Sub btnCalculate_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
      ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnCalculate.Click
     MessageBox.Show(Val(txtNum1.Text) + Val(txtNum2.Text))
     Call btnClear_Click(sender, e)
  End Sub
  
  and if you have a Clear button that clears the entries of two textboxes such as
  
  Private Sub btnClear_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, _
      ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnClear.Click
     txtNum1.Clear()
     txtNum2.Clear()
  End Sub
  
  you can use the statement   Call btnClear_Click(sender, e)   to the btnCalculate_Click method so that it automatically clears out the entries when the user calculates the sum. This statement is a call statement and it causes VB to execute the btnClear_Click method without the user having to click the Clear button! Having the ability to call methods from other methods in this way makes code more reusable. In this example, it is necessary to pass sender and e as parameters from the one method to the other method. We will learn more about parameters later in the course. The word Call is optional in a call statement, so the call statement above could have been typed as      btnClear_Click(sender, e)

Objective #2: Create your own method that is not tied to an event.

• You can create a method from scratch so that it can be called over and over again from other methods. This increases the reusability and efficiency of a class and its methods.
• To create a method you make up a name for the method and type statements into the body of the method. Here is an example:
  
  Private Sub MoveRight()
     picPlayer.Left = picPlayer.Left + 20
     picPlayer.Visible = (picPlayer.Visible + 1) Mod 2
  End Sub
  
  The first line of code at the top of a method is called the method header. The method header contains the name of the method as well as a set of parentheses. MoveRight is the name of the method in the example above. The name of the method can be anything the programmer desires. However, you should use logical names for methods that indicate their purpose. You should also use the InterCap method of capitalizing each word in the name of the method. No prefix is required though for a method's name. The parentheses are empty since it requires no parameters to be passed to it. There are two indented statements in the body of the method above.
  
  At this point in our VB course, methods should be declared as Private rather than Public so the first word in the method header should be Private. The first body statement causes the picture box picPlayer to move right each time the method is called. The second body statement makes the picture box invisible on every other click. It is not critical at this point in our VB course that you understand how this statement works.
  
  
• To call the MoveRight method illustrated above from within another method such as a button's click method you can use either of the following call statements:
  
  Call MoveRight()
  
  or
  
  MoveRight()
  
  
• Another example of a method made from scratch is:
  
  Private Sub ChangeColor()
     Me.BackColor = Color.Red
  End Sub
  
  This method would change the background color of the form to the color red.
  
  
• You can pass a parameter (also known as an argument) to a method to make it even more flexible. A parameter is like a variable. It has an associated data type (usually Integer or Double) and the word ByVal must be typed in front of it. Parameters appear in the parentheses that follow the name of a method. In the following example, dblPrice is a parameter.
  
  Private Sub DisplayPriceWithTax(ByVal dblPrice As Double)
     Dim dblTotalPrice As Double = 0.0
     dblTotalPrice = dblPrice + dblPrice * 0.06
     MessageBox.Show(dblTotalPrice)
  End Sub
  
  The following statement could be used to call the method DisplayPriceWithTax:
  
     Call DisplayPriceWithTax(10.00)
  
  A message box with the number 11.20 will be displayed since 6% tax added to an item that costs $10 is $11.20
  
  
• Here is a demo program that uses a few methods written from scratch to animate a player across the screen
  
  
  

  ' calling methods & passing parameters
  
  Public Class Form1
  
      Dim mintPlayerX As Integer = 10
      Dim mintPlayerY As Integer = 10
  
      Private Sub Form1_Paint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs) Handles Me.Paint
          DrawPlayer(sender, e)
          DrawEnemy(sender, e)
      End Sub
  
      Private Sub DrawPlayer(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs)
          e.Graphics.DrawLine(Pens.Black, mintPlayerX, mintPlayerY, mintPlayerX, mintPlayerY + 100)
      End Sub
  
      Private Sub DrawEnemy(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.PaintEventArgs)
          e.Graphics.DrawLine(Pens.Red, 200, 50, 200, 150)
      End Sub
  
      Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
          MoveDiagonal()
          Me.Refresh()
      End Sub
  
      Private Sub MoveRight()
          mintPlayerX += 10
      End Sub
  
      Private Sub MoveDown()
          mintPlayerY += 10
      End Sub
  
      Private Sub MoveDiagonal()
          MoveRight()
          MoveDown()
      End Sub
  End Class
    

  
  
  In the demo above, the methods MoveRight, MoveDown, MoveDiagonal, DrawPlayer, & DrawEnemy were all created by the programmer. It does not matter in what order these methods are typed into the code window. VB finds the methods when necessary.
  
  The statement    MoveDiagonal()    is a call statement that causes the MoveDiagonal method to execute when Button1 is clicked. The statement    MoveRight()     is a call statement that makes the MoveRight method execute from within the MoveDiagonal method. The statement     MoveDown()    is a similar call statement.
  
  The DrawPlayer and DrawEnemy methods are called to draw the respective characters on the screen. In order for draw commands to work correctly, you must pass two special parameters to those methods. At this point in our VB course, you should just understand that sender and e must be passed as parameters in this situation. You do not have to memorize the code that is inside the parentheses.
  
  The Me.Refresh() statement is necessary in order for VB to call the Form1_Paint method that draws the graphics.
  
  

Objective #3: Explain the benefits of using methods.

• Programmers should write methods so the methods can be reused in many programs and projects without having to change or modify them. For example, if you create a method with code that computes the Pennsylvania sales tax on a user-inputted value for one program, you can use it for any other business program that your write in the future. The reusability of methods is an important reason and justification for writing methods.
• As you gain experience, you will learn what kinds of tasks can be solved with methods that may apply to future programming assignments. You also will learn how to separate the code that does not change from the the code that will have to change for future assignments. In that way, during pseudocoding, you will be able to organize the algorithm and your efforts so that you can eventually reuse certain modules of code.
• Reusing code also saves time during program testing. If you already thoroughly tested a method, you will not need to test that part of a program in the future.
• Also, reusing methods makes programs more consistent with one another and more user-friendly.
• Designing a large project so that it uses multiple methods allows you to divide up the programming tasks and logic in a way that multiple programmers can work together. If one programmer can focus on a method named DrawMan and another programmer can focus on the method named DrawBattleship, the whole program can be assembled more quickly and easier in the end when they are put together.
• There are many methods and other code segments at vbcode.com and other Web sites that you can purchase or use for free. This saves a lot of time, effort, and sometimes even money.