another weird Alias-thought

[ReneMiner]

imagine the following, you have some standard-vartype as byte, long, dword and want to give it functions...

so it's like an udt-variable that has no further udt-elements but can have functions so it's not required to create an additional list of subitems that have to be part of the variables name then

???

maybe like this

' you know what this does:

Alias Dword As DataPtr

' ???

' but now imagine this simple example:

Type Alias DWord As DataPtr  ' means this Type DataPtr consists of one Dword only
   ' only functions allowed here !!! 
' -  but statics were thinkeable... ;)
   GetData As Function
   SetData As Function
End Type

Function DataPtr.GetData() As String
  Return Heap_Get(Me)
End Function

Function DataPtr.SetData(Byval sData as String) As Boolean
  If Heap_Size(Me) Then Heap_Free(Me)
  If StrPtrLen(StrPtr(sData)) Then  
    Me = Heap_AllocByStr(sData)
    Function = (Me <> 0 )
  Else
    Me = 0
    Function = True
  Endif
End Function



' lot's of ideas for this...
' examples:
Dim myPtrs(Expression) as DataPtr [At ...]

Type t_XYZ
  pData as DataPtr
   '...
End Type

Type Alias TBGL_tRGBA As myColor   ' would built-in udt work too?
'...
End Type

Type myStuff Extends DataPtr  ' also a nice one then...
'...
End Type


Type Alias Long As Windowstate  ' should be simple then
  Minimize As Function
  Maximize As Function
'...
End Type

Type Alias String As Username   ' could be a little tricky with strings...
'...
End Type
Type Alias String As Password   ' but user can use either StrPtr(Me) etc.
'...                            or heap could help out here to store these 
End Type

and we could have built-in-vartypes that have user-definded functions.... think of the possibilities - each variable could behave different by itself...

currently there's some "workaround" since it does not work using "Me" without ".pData" do some overlay at me

see below (runs)

Uses "console"

Type t_DataPtr
'since simply
'  Dword '<<< will ERROR
  pData As DWord   ' this is just to occupy the space but never used as such...
  SetData As Function
  GetData As Function
End Type  

Function t_DataPtr.GetData() As String
  Local lPtr As DWord At VarPtr(Me)
  
  Return HEAP_Get(lPtr)
End Function
 
Function t_DataPtr.SetData(ByVal sData As String) As Boolean
  Local lPtr As DWord At VarPtr(Me)
  
  If HEAP_Size(lPtr) Then HEAP_Free(lPtr)
  
  If StrPtrLen(StrPtr(sData)) Then 
    lPtr = HEAP_AllocByStr(sData)
    Function = ( lPtr <> 0 )
  Else
    lPtr = 0
    Function = TRUE
  EndIf
End Function

Dim x As t_dataptr

If x.setData("this test") Then
  PrintL x.GetData() & " was successful"
Else
  PrintL "test failed"  
EndIf 

WaitKey

not just for storing dataptrs and data at heap but also to have variables that may limit themselves or react on certain actions under certain circumstances.

Edit:
maybe no alias but just

Type As Long t_Windowstate
  Minimize As Function
'...
End Type

[ReneMiner]

... the thing is: i just want to have a long- or dword-, byte-, quad-, whatever-simple type with functions - according to it's name ("alias"). So no "x.pData" but just x since x is supposed to be just a dword, byte, quad, whatever. so if defining some udt-variable "alias/as" dword, byte etc. the udt just consists of that single variable-type and the udt-variables name should be enough to access it - but no ".UDT_SubElementsName" needed in this case because it's the only one.

[mike lobanovsky]

VisualBasic 6 (and FBSL v3, for that matter) utilize the word Default in a Type declaration to set forth the member in that UDT that can be assessed without referring to its member name. For example:

Type MySize
   Default Area    As Long
           Length  As Long
           Breadth As Long
End Type

Dim Size As MySize

Size.Length  = 2
Size.Breadth = 2
Size = Size.Length * Size.Breadth

MsgBox Size ' popups 4 that's actually Size's Area field

So Default would be a legit 3rd-generation BASIC keyword to denote what you want:

Type DoMinimize
    Default Shrink As Function
End Type

Dim Minimize As DoMinimize

Minimize hMyWnd ' Shrink your window

(P.S. If thinBasic were not the only BASIC you care about, it would be much easier and less verbose for you to express your morning ideas.)

[ReneMiner]

however its possible to have variables as %myNumConst or $myStringConst to be unchangeable once initialized. So there's a way to block these somehow...

if this kind of udt that just can consist of one simple variable as in example above can just be changed through keyword "ME" when currently inside a function that's pointer should be identic to one that is stored in the udt-structure then we could have "privates".

it just would require that assigning or reading values from variables of this type are "unaccesseable" - except if replaced through "Me"
But it would also require that the functions (that are not declared as private) are accesseable if the real variables name is used


+Mike
thanks for your reply, it's indeed the case that i am not a professional programmer and none forces me to code. thinBasic in the meantime has implemented a few of my thoughts and it's becoming some perfectly customized language - it's fun to me. If i'd like to use another language then i would post into their forums

[mike lobanovsky]

If i'd like to use another language then i would post into their forums

Perhaps. But there's at least one where you can't -- not any more.

[ReneMiner]

Back to the reason of this thread, not for the private matter but for the possibility to have "simple variables" with functions without the need of any additional subsets. So i can dim foo as t_Type where t_Type can only have functions but no variables noded below, instead it has a value of type "Byte","Long" etc.

Uses "console"

Alias DWord As DataPtr

Type any_Data Extends DataPtr ' :( won't work...
  Be    As Function
  Is    As Function
End Type  

dim foo as any_Data   ' foo should be a dword with functions now...
' foo.Be("some data") should be valid 
' inside Type-function "Me" would be a simple Dword and not been followed by a dot.
  
PrintL " -- key to end --"
WaitKey

Mike,
might be that vb6-support was stopped in march 2008 - or is your forum down?