Classes and Procedures

Introduction We know that a procedure is an assignment that complemented a program. We also saw that there were two types of procedures: functions and sub routines. These concepts of sub procedures and functions also apply to classes. This means that a procedure that process a class, it can be passed a class as argument, and it can return a class.  As described in Lesson 8, to create a sub procedure, type the Sub keyword followed by a name, followed by parentheses and an end of line. To indicate the end of a sub procedure, you must type End Sub. Therefore, the syntax of a sub procedure is: Sub ProcedureName() End Sub Between the Sub and the End Sub lines, you can declare the necessary variables and they can be of regular types or based on classes. Here is an example: Module Exercise Private Sub ShowCharacteristics() Dim reg As RegularTriangle = New RegularTriangle(35.28, 26.44) End Sub Public Function Main() As Integer Return 0 End Function End Module After declaring a variable based on a class, you can regularly use it as we have done with objects in the Main() function so far. Here is an example: File: Exercise.vb Module Exercise Private Sub ShowCharacteristics() Dim reg As RegularTriangle = New RegularTriangle(35.28, 26.44) Response.Write("Shape Type: " & reg.Type) Response.Write("Triangle Type: " & reg.Name) Response.Write("=-= Characteristics =-=") Response.Write("Base: " & reg.Base) Response.Write("Height: " & reg.Height) Response.Write("Area: " & reg.CalculateArea) End Sub Public Function Main() As Integer ShowCharacteristics() Return 0 End Function End Module In the same way, you can declare as many class variables as you see fit in a procedure.  Returning an Object So far, as we have learned since Lesson, we know that a function can be used to return a value. In the same way, you can create a function that returns an object of a class. When creating such a function, set its type as that of the class it would return. The formula to follow is still: Function FunctionName() As ClassName End Function In the body of the class, which is the section between the Function and the End Function lines, you can perform any assignment you judge necessary. For example you can declare local variables. Before exiting the function, you must make sure it returns a value based on its As type. You can do this using the Return keyword followed by the value to return. Here is an example: Private Function CreateTriangle() As RegularTriangle Dim regTri As RegularTriangle Dim base As Double, height As Double Response.Write("Enter the measurements of the triangle") Console.Write("Base: ") base = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) Console.Write("Height: ") height = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) regTri = New RegularTriangle(base, height) Return regTri End Function After defining the function, since it returns a value, when calling it, you can assign it to a variable of the type that it returns. Here is an example: Module Exercise Private Function CreateTriangle() As RegularTriangle Dim regTri As RegularTriangle Dim base As Double, height As Double Response.Write("Enter the measurements of the triangle") Console.Write("Base: ") base = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) Console.Write("Height: ") height = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) regTri = New RegularTriangle(base, height) Return regTri End Function Private Sub ShowCharacteristics() Dim reg As RegularTriangle = New RegularTriangle reg = CreateTriangle() Response.Write("Shape Type: " & reg.Type) Response.Write("Triangle Type: " & reg.Name) Response.Write("=-= Characteristics =-=") Response.Write("Base: " & reg.Base) Response.Write("Height: " & reg.Height) Response.Write("Area: " & reg.CalculateArea) End Sub Public Function Main() As Integer ShowCharacteristics Return 0 End Function End Module Here is a test of the above code: Enter the measurements of the triangle Base: 18.44 Height: 12.62 Shape Type: Triangle Triangle Type: Regular =-= Characteristics =-= Base: 18.44 Height: 12.62 Area: 116.3564

 

Passing a Class as Argument Like a regular variable, a class can be passed as argument to a procedure. When a procedure receives such an argument, it can process it as necessary. All the rules we reviewed for regular variables apply to a class, as long as you keep in mind that an object has members that you may need to be aware of. When calling the procedure, make sure you pass it a value argument based on the class it passed to it. Here is an example of a class passed as argument: Module Exercise Private Function CreateTriangle() As RegularTriangle Dim regTri As RegularTriangle Dim base As Double, height As Double Response.Write("Enter the measurements of the triangle") Console.Write("Base: ") base = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) Console.Write("Height: ") height = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) regTri = New RegularTriangle(base, height) Return regTri End Function Private Sub ShowCharacteristics(ByVal reg As RegularTriangle) Response.Write("Shape Type: " & reg.Type) Response.Write("Triangle Type: " & reg.Name) Response.Write("=-= Characteristics =-=") Response.Write("Base: " & reg.Base) Response.Write("Height: " & reg.Height) Response.Write("Area: " & reg.CalculateArea) End Sub Public Function Main() As Integer Dim Angle3 = CreateTriangle() Response.Write() ShowCharacteristics(Angle3) Response.Write() Return 0 End Function End Module Besides the function, in Lesson 5, we saw that, by passing an argument by reference, a sub procedure could return a value. This characteristic also applies to a class passed as argument. When passing the argument, precede it with the ByRef keyword. In the procedure, process the argument as you see fit, unless you choose not to. When calling the procedure, pass it a valid variable based on the type of the argument. Here is an example: Module Exercise Private Sub CreateTriangle(ByRef regTri As RegularTriangle) Dim base As Double, height As Double Response.Write("Enter the measurements of the triangle") Console.Write("Base: ") base = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) Console.Write("Height: ") height = CDbl(Console.ReadLine()) regTri = New RegularTriangle(base, height) End Sub Private Sub ShowCharacteristics(ByVal reg As RegularTriangle) Response.Write("Shape Type: " & reg.Type) Response.Write("Triangle Type: " & reg.Name) Response.Write("=-= Characteristics =-=") Response.Write("Base: " & reg.Base) Response.Write("Height: " & reg.Height) Response.Write("Area: " & reg.CalculateArea) End Sub Public Function Main() As Integer Dim Angle3 As RegularTriangle = New RegularTriangle CreateTriangle(Angle3) Response.Write() ShowCharacteristics(Angle3) Response.Write() Return 0 End Function End Module Here is an example of testing it: Enter the measurements of the triangle Base: 50.05 Height: 25.52 Shape Type: Triangle Triangle Type: Regular =-= Characteristics =-= Base: 50.05 Height: 25.52 Area: 638.638   Technique of Using Variables and Arguments   Static Variables Like a regular variable, a class can be locally declared as static, using the Static keyword. If the value of such a locally declared variable changes, when the procedure ends, the value of the variable is changed and would be kept until the next call. Optional Arguments When passing an argument of a class, you can specify that it is not required. Such an argument is considered optional. To specify that an argument is optional, when creating its procedure, type the Optional keyword to the left of the argument's name and assign it the default value. All the other rules we reviewed for optional arguments are also applied here.  Procedure Overloading If you want to create various procedures that takes a class argument, you can create a procedure with the same name but different signatures. This is referred to as overloading the procedure. When doing this, follow the same rules we reviewed for overloading a procedure: the must have the same name, they cannot have the same number of argument when the arguments at each position are of the same types.