6.2.
2 Declaring Variables
In Visual Basic 2010, one needs to declare the variables before using them by assigning names and data types.
If you fail to do so, the program will show an error. They are normally declared in the general section of the codes'
windows using the Dim statement.
The format is as follows:
Dim Variable Name As Data Type
Example 6.1
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
MyBase.Load
Dim password As String
Dim yourName As String
Dim firstnum As Integer
Dim secondnum As Integer
Dim total As Integer
Dim doDate As Date
End Sub
You may also combine them in one line , separating each variable with a comma, as follows:
Dim password As String, yourName As String, firstnum As Integer,.............
For string declaration, there are two possible formats, one for the variable-length string and another for the fixedlength string. For the variable-length string, just use the same format as example 6.1 above. However, for the
fixed-length string, you have to use the format as shown below:
Dim VariableName as String * n, where n defines the number of characters the string can hold.
Example 6.2:
Dim yourName as String * 10
yourName can holds no more than 10 Characters.
6.2.3 Assigning Values to Variables
After declaring various variables using the Dim statements, we can assign values to those variables. The general
format of an assignment is
Variable=Expression
The variable can be a declared variable or a control property value. The expression could be a mathematical
expression, a number, a string, a Boolean value (true or false) and etc. The following are some examples:
firstNumber=100
secondNumber=firstNumber-99
userName="John Lyan"
userpass.Text = password
Label1.Visible = True
Command1.Visible = false
Label4.Caption = textbox1.Text
ThirdNumber = Val(usernum1.Text)
total = firstNumber + secondNumber+ThirdNumber
6.3 Constants
Constants are different from variables in the sense that their values do not change during the running of the
program.
6.3.1 Declaring a Constant
The format to declare a constant is
Const Constant Name As Data Type = Value
Example 6.3
Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal
e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
Const Pi As Single=3.142
Const Temp As Single=37
Const Score As Single=100
End Sub