Lists and Loops

Coverage:
This chapter teaches you to use ListBox and ComboBox controls in designing forms.
Additionally, you will learn to code loop structures, both condition-controlled (Do loops) and
count-controlled loops (For...Next loops).

Outline:

INTRODUCTION
Chapter 7 In-Class Project
In this chapter you will develop a project for the VB University that can be used for data entry of
employee information. The form will make use of a new type of control – a list control. This
form includes both a ListBox and two ComboBox controls. List type controls allow an
application user to select from a list of items and to display a list of items.

ListBox, CheckedListBox, and ComboBox

Controls to List Items
Visual basic provides three controls to enable an application user to select from a list of items:
ListBox, CheckedListBox, and ComboBox.

This figure (a VB project form) displays different styles for these controls.
  ListBox – size the control as desired; application user selects from the list – new items
cannot be typed into the list.

 CheckedListBox – has a list of checkboxes inside a ListBox.

 ComboBox – has a DropDownStyle property that affects how the control works.

o DropDownStyle = DropDown – includes a TextBox and ListBox together, you

can type new items into the TextBox portion of the control, and the control does
not consume very much space on the form. The list drops down when you click
the drop-down arrow.

o DropDownStyle = Simple – you can type text into the TextBox at the top of the
ComboBox control – the list displays in a ListBox format and then you can scroll
up and down the listing.

o DropDownStyle = DropDownList – a ComboBox with no textbox into which to

type new items – you cannot add new items.

1. As you type a letter, the control automatically searches for the first item in
the listing that begins with that letter.

2. The listing drops down when you click the drop-down arrow.

3. The background color of the control with this setting is gray to indicate that
you cannot add new items.

ListBox, CheckedListBox, and ComboBox controls:

 Automatically have a vertical scroll bar added by VB when the list is too large to
display all items on the form.

 Have a Sorted property that will automatically sort the list when set to True.
 ListBox controls display the Name property at design time – you cannot delete it, but the name
does not appear at run time. Also, if items are added to the control the name property
disappears at design time.

ComboBox controls display the Text property. At run time they display the appropriate values
so don't worry about what they display at design time.

The Items Collection

The list of items that display one of these controls is called a collection.

 The collection is accessed through the Items property.

 The Items collection has properties and methods to make it easy to add items, remove
items, and refer to individual items.

 The items in the list are numbered beginning with the number 0. A list of 10 items has
the items numbered 0 through 9.

Filling the List

Two ways to fill a List control:

1. If the list of items varies, the best way to fill a list is to store values into the list control's Items
collection from a database table

2. If the list of items never changes or does not change much, you can add items at design type by
clicking on the Items property shown in this figure – a String Collection Editor window will
open and you type the items into the editor window.

In-Class Exercise
Property settings for the controls:

 TitleComboBox:

o DropDownStyle – DropDownList

o Items Collection list items:

 Professor

 Associate Professor

 Assistant Professor

 Lecturer

o Sorted property – True

 DepartmentComboBox:

o DropDownStyle - DropDown

o Items Collection list items:

 Accounting
  Economics & Finance

 CMIS

 Management & Marketing

o Sorted property – True

 EmployeeListBox:

o Sorted property – True

The form has a menu strip control with the following menu entries.

File Employee Department Help

Count Add Employee Add Department About

Compute &Interest Reset Employee Count Departments

Exit Remove Department

----------------------------------
Remove At Department
Clear Employee List

Display Selected Employee

Check and set the form's Tab Order.

Run the project – test that the ComboBox controls have appropriate lists as specified by you at
design time.
Coding ListBox and ComboBox Controls
Items.Add Method
The Items.Add method is used to add an item to a list or ComboBox at run time.

Example commands to add a new faculty listing to the EmployeeListBox and new departments
to the DepartmentComboBox controls are shown below:

Dim NewEmployeeNameString As String = "Mary Sumner"

Dim NewDepartmentNameString As String = "Chemistry"

'This adds a literal value.

EmployeeListBox.Items.Add("Mary Sumner")

'This adds a value from a TextBox control.

EmployeeListBox.Items.Add(EmployeeNameTextBox.Text)

'This adds a value from a string memory variable.

EmployeeListBox.Items.Add(NewEmployeeNameString )

'The Items.Add method works for ComboBoxes in the same

fashion.

'This adds a new department name using a literal value.

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add("Chemistry")

'This adds a value from the text property of the ComboBox

control.

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add(DepartmentComboBox.Text)

'This adds a value from a string memory variable.

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add(NewDepartmentNameString)

In-Class Exercise
Task #1: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Add Department menu item.
  Add the value typed into the DepartmentComboBox control's Text property to the
Items collection of the ComboBox control.

 Check to ensure that the Text property is not the empty string.

Private Sub AddDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
AddDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Add department text property to ComboBox listing

'if not the empty string

If DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim <> String.Empty Then

'Ok to add
DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add(DepartmentComboBox.Text)

Else

'Cannot add

MessageBox.Show("You must type a new department

name.", "Name Missing Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Error)

DepartmentComboBox.Focus()

End If

End Sub

 In the above coding segment, if the Text property is not the empty string, the Text property
value is added to the Items collection. The code does not handle the insertion of duplicate
department name items.

Task #2: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Add Employee menu item.

 Create a string variable named NewEmployeeString.

 Store to the string variable the concatenated value of the EmployeeNameTextBox.Text

& TitleComboBox.Text & DepartmentComboBox.Text & SalaryTextBox.Text –
separate each entry with a comma and blank space.

 Add the string value to the EmployeeListBox control.

  Clear the rest of the form and set the focus to the EmployeeNameTextBox in order to
prepare for entering the next employee’s information

Private Sub AddEmployeeToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender

As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
AddEmployeeToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Build the string to add

Dim NewEmployeeString As String =

EmployeeNameTextBox.Text & ", " & TitleComboBox.Text & ", " &
DepartmentComboBox.Text & ", " & SalaryTextBox.Text

'Add string to ListBox

EmployeeListBox.Items.Add(NewEmployeeString)

'Clear the form - ready to add another employee

EmployeeNameTextBox.Clear()

TitleComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

SalaryTextBox.Clear()

'Set focus

EmployeeNameTextBox.Focus()

End Sub

Items.Insert Method
If a list is unsorted, you can use the Items.Insert method to specify exactly where within an
Items collection to add a new item. You do this by specifying the number position in the
collection – this is also called the index position of the new item.

This coding statement adds the item Chemistry as the very first item in the
DepartmentComboBox control; however, if the Sorted property is True, then specifying the
location will not have any effect.

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Insert(0, "Chemistry")
 If the ListBox or ComboBox control is sorted, then the Insert method appears to work exactly
as the Add method – the new item is added at the location specified, but then control then
immediately resorts the listing.

Items.Clear Method
The Items.Clear method will remove the contents of a ListBox or ComboBox.

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Clear()

In-Class Exercise
Task: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Clear Employee List menu item.

 Declare a dialog result variable and display a message box that asks the system user if
they want to "Clear employee listing?" – capture their response to the variable.

 The message box will display Yes and No buttons – make No the default button with the
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2 parameter.

 If the response is Yes, then clear the ListBox control.

Private Sub ClearToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
ClearToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Use response variable to capture user response

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Clear employee listing Y/N?", "Yes or No",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)

'Test to confirm whether to clear listing

If ResponseDialogResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes
Then

EmployeeListBox.Items.Clear()

End If

End Sub

Run the project, add two faculty members, then test the ability to clear the listing.
SelectedIndex and SelectedItem Properties
When you select an item from a list, the index number associated with the item is stored to the
SelectedIndex property.

 When no item is selected, SelectedIndex = -1.

 You can select (highlight) an item in a list by storing a numeric value to the
SelectedIndex property.

'This selects the 4th department item

DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIndex = 3

'This unselects any selected (highlighted) item

DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

When you select an item from a list, the selected item is stored to the SelectedItem property.
This property can be used to display the selection elsewhere, for example, in a message box or to
a TextBox control.

'Displays the selected current faculty member to a message box

MessageBox.Show(EmployeeListBox.SelectedItem.ToString)

To display an item in a list to another control, such as a textbox named

EmployeeInformationTextBox, the command is shown here.

 The ToString method ensures the item (that is stored in the list as an object) converts to
string for storage to the Text property of the TextBox control.

 The ToString method is optional, but MUST be used if Option Strict On is set.

'Displays first item to the textbox

EmployeeInformationTextBox.Text = EmployeeListBox.Items(0).ToString()

The Reset Employee menu item Click event sub procedure demonstrates setting the
SelectedIndex property to -1 to unselect items in two ComboBox controls and one ListBox
control.

Private Sub ResetEmployeeToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
ResetEmployeeToolStripMenuItem.Click
 'Clear TextBox controls

EmployeeNameTextBox.Clear()

SalaryTextBox.Clear()

'Unselect title and department ComboBox controls and

'set Text property to empty string

TitleComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

TitleComboBox.Text = String.Empty

DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

'Unselect the currently selected faculty member in the

Listbox

EmployeeListBox.SelectedIndex = -1

'Reset focus to the employee name TextBox

EmployeeNameTextBox.Focus()

End Sub

In-Class Exercise
Task #1: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Display Selected Faculty menu item.

 Use a message box to display the current selected item from the EmployeeListBox
control.
 Private Sub DisplaySelectedToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal
sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
DisplaySelectedToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Use messagebox to display selected employee

If EmployeeListBox.SelectedIndex = -1 Then

MessageBox.Show("You must select an employee member

to display.", "No Selection Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Error)

Else

MessageBox.Show(EmployeeListBox.SelectedItem.ToString, "Current
selection", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End If

End Sub

Task #2: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Reset Employee menu item as shown
earlier.

Items.Count Property
The Items.Count property stores a number equal to the number of items in a list or ComboBox
Items collection.

 The value of Items.Count is always 1 more than the maximum allowable SelectedIndex
value.

 If there are 5 items in a list, then SelectedIndex possible values are 0 through 4, but
Items.Count equals 5.

Use this property to display the number of items in a list.

Private Sub CountDepartmentsToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
CountDepartmentsToolStripMenuItem.Click
 'Display a message box with the count of the number of
departments

Dim MessageString As String = "Number of departments: " &

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Count.ToString()

Dim TitleString As String = "Count of Departments"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub

Items.RemoveAt and Items.Remove Methods

To remove an individual item from a list, specify either the index or text of the item.

 Items.RemoveAt method – removes an item by specifying the index position.

 Items.Remove method – removes an item by specifying the item name.

The RemoveAt method fails if an item has not been selected for removal because the value of
SelectedIndex = -1 and you cannot remove a non-existent item – this throws an exception:
ArgumentOutOfRangeException.

When the Remove method is used and an item has not been selected for removal, the method
simply does nothing.

'Removes the first item from the list

DepartmentComboBox.Items.RemoveAt(0)

'Removes the item according to the value of IndexInteger

DepartmentComboBox.Items.RemoveAt(IndexInteger)

'Remove the currently selected item

DepartmentComboBox.Items.RemoveAt(DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIn
dex)

'Remove item by name where the item name is stored

 'to the SelectedItem property of the ComboBox

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Remove(DepartmentComboBox.SelectedItem
)

In-Class Exercise
Task #1: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Department menu, Count Departments
menu item.

 Display the current number of departments to a message box.

Private Sub CountDepartmentsToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
CountDepartmentsToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Display a message box with the count of the number of

departments

Dim MessageString As String = "Number of departments: " &

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Count.ToString()

Dim TitleString As String = "Count of Departments"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub

Task #2: Code the Click event sub procedure for the Department menu, Remove Department
menu item.

 Use the Items collection Remove method.

  Use a message box to ask the system user to confirm to remove the selected department

as shown here.

Private Sub RemoveDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
RemoveDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Declare dialog result variable

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Remove the selected department?", "Remove ?",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)

If ResponseDialogResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes
Then

'Remove the selected department from the listing

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Remove(DepartmentComboBox.SelectedItem)

'This next line of code clears the Text

'property of the ComboBox – this is automatic

'for the Remove method, but not for the last

'item in a list.

DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

End If

End Sub

Task #3: Code for the Click event sub procedure for the Department menu, Remove At
Department menu item.

 Use the Items collection RemoveAt method.

  Use a message box to ask the system user to confirm to remove the selected
department.

 Use a Try-Catch block to trap the possible ArgumentOutOfRangeException that will

be thrown if an item is not selected. Display a message box like the one shown in this
figure.

Private Sub RemoveAtDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
RemoveAtDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Try to remove the department if one is selected

Try

'Declare dialog result variable

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Remove the selected department?", "Remove ?",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)

If ResponseDialogResult =
Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes Then

'Remove the selected department from the listing

DepartmentComboBox.Items.RemoveAt(DepartmentComboBox.SelectedInde
x)

'This next line of code clears the Text

'property of the ComboBox – this is automatic

'for the Remove method, but not for the last

'item in a list.
 DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

End If

Catch ex As ArgumentOutOfRangeException

MessageBox.Show("You must select a department to

remove.", "No Selection Was Made", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Error)

End Try

End Sub

ListBox and ComboBox Events

Code can be written for several events of ListBoxes and ComboBoxes. These include:

 SelectedIndexChanged Event. Occurs when a system user makes a new selection for a
list or ComboBox.

 TextChanged Event. As a system user types characters into the TextBox portion of a
ComboBox, this event is triggered for each character typed. ListBoxes do not have this
event.

 Enter Event. When a list or ComboBox receives focus, this event occurs.

 Leave Event. When a list or ComboBox loses focus, this event occurs.

In-Class Exercise
Task: Code the Leave event.

 In the object drop-down ComboBox, select DepartmentComboBox as shown in the

figure below.

 Next select the Leave event from the Declarations (property, method and event) drop-
down ComboBox.
 Code the Leave event to add the value that is typed into the Text property of
DepartmentComboBox to the Items collection of DepartmentComboBox.

Private Sub DepartmentComboBox_Leave(ByVal sender As Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles DepartmentComboBox.Leave

'Store ComboBox Text property value to Items collection

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add(DepartmentComboBox.Text)

End Sub

 Note that this code enables adding duplicate values as well as blank values.

 Test the code.

 After testing, delete the Leave event code.

Loops
Loop structures enable you to execute a series of VB statements over and over. A loop iteration
is a single execution of the loop.

There are two types of loops:

 Condition-controlled. In VB, these are Do Loops – loops that execute over and over
until a specific condition occurs. In VB.NET, these are Do Loops.

 Count-controlled. In VB, these are For…Next Loops – loops that execute for a
specified number of times.

The Boolean Data Type

A Boolean variable has a value of either True or False.

 Use a Boolean variable to control the stopping condition for a loop.

 The default value for a declared Boolean variable is False. Some programmers explicitly set
the variable to False when it is declared to make it clear that the starting value for a loop search
is initially false.

 An example of declaring a Boolean is:

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Do Loops
Do Loops can execute the coding statements within the body of the loop either:

 Until a condition is met that causes the loop to terminate (stop executing),

 While a condition is met that causes a loop to continue executing.

Do Loops can have the condition test (termed the stopping condition) at either the top or
bottom of a loop, and can use either a While or Until option to test the condition.

Condition at Top of Loop – While Logic. The following loop executes while the stopping
condition FoundBoolean is False.

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Do While FoundBoolean = False

'Coding statements to execute.

'Code to search for some value

If ValueIsFound = True Then

'Code to perform the tasks required when a search succeeds

FoundBoolean = True

Else

IndexInteger += 1

End If

Loop

'Control transfers here after the loop finishes.

 Condition at Top of Loop – Until Logic. This loop works like the one above, but uses Until
logic. The loop executes until the stopping condition FoundBoolean is True. These are the
mirror image of each other. Use the approach that you like best.

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Do Until FoundBoolean = True

'Coding statements to execute.

'Code to search for some value

If ValueIsFound = True Then

'Code to perform the tasks required when a search succeeds

FoundBoolean = True

Else

IndexInteger += 1

End If

Loop

'Control transfers here after the loop finishes.

Condition at Bottom of Loop – While Logic. This next loop will always execute the body of
the loop at least one time because the stopping condition is not tested until the end of the loop.

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Do

'Coding statements to execute.

'Code to search for some value

If ValueIsFound = True Then

'Code to perform the tasks required when a search succeeds

FoundBoolean = True

Else

IndexInteger += 1

End If
 Loop While FoundBoolean = False

'Control transfers here after the loop finishes.

You can also test for an Until condition at the bottom of a Do Loop.

Searching a ListBox or ComboBox

One problem with adding new departments to the DepartmentComboBox control is that you
can end up with duplicate departments – duplicates can occur when adding items to any
ComboBox.

Search coding procedures requires the following concepts:

 When adding items, ACCOUNTING is not equal to Accounting or accounting – you

can work around this potential problem so that you can search for duplicates by adding
the .ToUpper method to search items – this causes VB to treat all values as if they are
typed in capital letters.

 Assume the department to be added is NOT in the items collection by setting

FoundBoolean = False.

 Start the search with the first department in the ComboBox by setting IndexInteger = 0.

 Use a Do Loop to examine each department in the Items collection starting at item 0
until there are no more items.

o If a department in the collection matches the Text property value, then set
FoundBoolean = True and stop the search.

o If no department matches the Text property value, the item index variable
IndexInteger will eventually grow in value until it equals
DepartmentComboBox.Count – in this situation, you can add the department to the
ComboBox Items Collection property.

o Note the use of multiple methods ToString, Trim, and ToUpper with the
DepartmentComboBox to convert the value to a string, trim off any leading/trailing
blank spaces, and treat the value as if it were entered in all capital letters.

Private Sub AddDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender

As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
AddDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Add department text property to ComboBox listing

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

 Dim IndexInteger As Integer = 0

Do Until FoundBoolean = True Or IndexInteger =

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Count

If DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim.ToUpper =
DepartmentComboBox.Items(IndexInteger).ToString.Trim.ToUpper Then

FoundBoolean = True

Else

'Add 1 to index value

IndexInteger += 1

End If

Loop 'Loop back and try again

'Now decide whether to add item or not

If FoundBoolean = False And DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim

<> String.Empty Then

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add(DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim)

Else

MessageBox.Show("Duplicate or Invalid Department

Name", "Duplicate Data Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)

DepartmentComboBox.Focus()

DepartmentComboBox.SelectAll()

End If

End Sub

In-Class Exercise
Replace the code for the Add Department menu item's click event with the code shown above.
 Run the project and test the system by adding a new department (Philosophy), a duplicate
department (Accounting), and a blank department value.

For…Next Loops
A For…Next loop is a count-controlled loop – the code executes a set number of times based
on a loop index.

 A loop index is a numeric variable (usually integer or single).

 The loop index is initialized to a starting value. The starting value in the code below is 1.

 After each execution of the loop, the loop index is changed (made larger or smaller) by the step
value. The step value in the example below is 2. The Step value is optional - if it is not
specified, it is automatically assumed to be 1.

 The loop terminates when the loop index exceeds the ending value. The ending value below is
5.

This example merely illustrates the mechanics of coding a count-controlled loop.

Private Sub CountToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
CountToolStripMenuItem.Click

Dim IndexInteger As Integer

For IndexInteger = 1 To 5 Step 2

'Print some output so you can see the

'loop counting as it loops around.

CountListBox.Items.Add(IndexInteger.ToString)

Next IndexInteger

'Control transfers to here when the loop ends

MessageBox.Show("Finished Counting")

End Sub

Other example For…Next statements:

 For IndexInteger = 2 To 100 Step 4

For IndexInteger = StartValueInteger To EndValueInteger Step

IncrementInteger

For IndexInteger = 0 To (DepartmentComboBox.Items.Count - 1)

For InterestRateDecimal = 0.05D To 0.25D Step 0.05D

For BackwardsIndexInteger = 10 To 0 Step -1

In-Class Exercise
Task 1. Counting Forward

 Add a ListBox to the form named CountListBox, and a menu item under the File menu
named Count.

 Add the code to the Count menu item's Click event shown in the above example.

 Try different values for the ending value and step increment.

Task 2. Counting Backward

Modify the code for the File-Count menu to count backwards from 10 to 1 by 1. The solution
given here stops when IndexInteger is less than 1.

For IndexInteger = 10 To 1 Step -1

'Print some output so you can see the

'loop counting as it loops around.

CountListBox.Items.Add(IndexInteger.ToString)

Next IndexInteger
Task 3. Computing Interest

Write code for the File-Compute Interest menu option that will compute compound interest on an initial
investment of $1,000 at 6% for a 5-year period and display the balance at the end of the period by using a
message box.

Private Sub ComputeInterestToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
ComputeInterestToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Example For..Next loop that calculates compound

'interest on an investment

Dim InvestmentAmountDecimal As Decimal = 1000D '$1000

Dim TermInteger As Integer = 5 '5 years

Dim InterestSingle As Single = 1.0F 'Beginning for 1st

compound

Dim InterestRateSingle As Single = 0.06F '6% interest

rate

'Compute total effective interest rate in loop

For Index = 1 To TermInteger

InterestSingle = InterestSingle * (1.0F +

InterestRateSingle)

Next Index

'Calculate total investment at the end of

'5 years including compound interest

Dim EndingValueDecimal = InvestmentAmountDecimal *

InterestSingle

MessageBox.Show("Ending balance: " &

EndingValueDecimal.ToString("C2"), "Your Balance",
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub

***********A Loop That Will Not Execute

A loop condition is always checked the first time that a For...Next statement executes. In this
example, IndexInteger is already larger than the ending value for the loop
(FinalValueInteger).

Dim FinalValueInteger As Integer = 5

For IndexInteger = 6 To FinalValueInteger

'Nothing happens – the final value is less than

'the starting value

Next IndexInteger

An Endless Loop
This loop executes endlessly because IndexInteger is reset to the starting value every time the
loop executes.

For IndexInteger = 1 To 5

'loop control index is reset

IndexInteger = 1

Next IndexInteger

Once a For...Next loop begins to execute, the values of starting value, ending value, and step
increment are set – changing these values within the loop CAN affect execution of the loop.

Nested Loops – A Loop Inside a Loop

This example shows a For...Next loop inside another For...Next loop. The inner loop must be
completely contained within the outer loop. The inner loop executes a "normal number" of times
for each execution of the outer loop.

Dim TotalLong As Long

Dim OuterIndexInteger As Integer

Dim InnerIndexInteger As Integer

'Start of the outer loop

For OuterIndexInteger = 1 To 10
 'Start of the inner loop – each time we get here the

'inner loop starts all over again

For InnerIndexInteger = 1 To 10

TotalLong += 1

CountListBox.Items.Add(TotalLong.ToString)

Next InnerIndexInteger

'Exited inner loop – control transfers to outer loop

Next OuterIndexInteger

'Control transfers here when the outer loop ends

Exit Statement
The Exit For statement is used to exit a For...Next loop before the ending value is reached.
Example:

For IndexInteger = 1 To 10

If InputTextBox.Text = String.Empty Then 'Blank input

MessageBox.Show("Input is invalid")

Exit For

End If

'Other statements to process if the input is valid

Next IndexInteger

There are also Exit Do and Exit While and Exit If statements. For the most part, using any Exit
statement is unnecessary if your code is constructed properly.

Selecting Control Entries

Selecting a TextBox Entry
Recall the use of the SelectAll method to select and highlight all data typed into a TextBox. The
TextBox Enter event combined with the SelectAll method highlights text is a technique for
highlighting text.

Private Sub EmployeeNameTextBox_Enter(ByVal sender As Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles EmployeeNameTextBox.Enter

'Select existing text values

EmployeeNameTextBox.SelectAll()

End Sub

Selecting a ListBox or ComboBox Entry

You can highlight text in a list or ComboBox – simply store the numeric index value of the
desired item to the SelectedIndex property of the list or ComboBox.

EmployeeListBox.SelectedIndex = IndexInteger

Coding a TextChanged Event

Expand the size of the form for your Ch07VBUniversity project – you will find that the form
already has a TextBox named FruitTextBox and a ListBox named FruitListBox as shown in
this figure.

This sub procedure shows code for the TextChanged event for the FruitTextBox control –
whenever a character is typed into the TextBox, it triggers a search for a matching value in the
FruitListBox.
 Private Sub FruitTextBox_TextChanged(ByVal sender As
System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
FruitTextBox.TextChanged

'Initialize variables to control the search

Dim IndexInteger As Integer = 0

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Dim ListItemString As String

'Start the search

Do While Not FoundBoolean And IndexInteger <

FruitListBox.Items.Count

'Compare the value in the TextBox to the ListBox

Items

ListItemString =
FruitListBox.Items(IndexInteger).ToString.ToUpper

If
ListItemString.StartsWith(FruitTextBox.Text.ToUpper) Then

'found a fruit name that starts with the Text

typed thus far

FruitListBox.SelectedIndex = IndexInteger

FoundBoolean = True

Else

IndexInteger += 1

End If

Loop

If FoundBoolean = False Then

 MessageBox.Show("That fruit is not in the list.",
"Not Found", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)

End If

End Sub

In-Class Exercise
Task #1: Selecting a TextBox Entry

 Add a TextBox control named FruitTextBox and a ListBox control named FruitListBox
to the form.

 Set the ListBox Sorted property to True.

 Add some fruit items to the Items collection for the fruit ListBox.

 Use the SelectAll method as shown earlier to test your ability to highlight text in the fruit
ListBox control.

 Type a value in the TextBox, then tab around the form until the TextBox is again selected
– it should highlight the text in the control.

Private Sub FruitTextBox_Enter(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e

As System.EventArgs) Handles FruitTextBox.Enter

'Select existing text values

FruitTextBox.SelectAll()

End Sub

Task #2: Selecting a List or ComboBox Entry

 Use the code shown above to search for a value in the FruitListBox as you type the
name of a type of fruit into the FruitTextBox.

 Test the code.

Solution to In-Class Exercise

This solution shows the Ch07VBUniversity project code.
'Project: Ch07VBUniversity (Solution)

'D. Bock

'Today's Date

Option Strict On

Public Class Employee

Private Sub AddDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
AddDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Add department text property to combo box listing

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Dim IndexInteger As Integer = 0

Do Until FoundBoolean = True Or IndexInteger =

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Count

If DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim.ToUpper =
DepartmentComboBox.Items(IndexInteger).ToString.Trim.ToUpper Then

FoundBoolean = True

Else

'Add 1 to index value

IndexInteger += 1

End If

Loop 'Loop back and try again

'Now decide whether to add item or not

If FoundBoolean = False And DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim

<> String.Empty Then
DepartmentComboBox.Items.Add(DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim)

Else

MessageBox.Show("Duplicate or Invalid Department

Name", "Duplicate Data Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)

DepartmentComboBox.Focus()

DepartmentComboBox.SelectAll()

End If

End Sub

Private Sub AddEmployeeToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender

As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
AddEmployeeToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Add a new employee to the ListBox if Valid

If ValidData Then

'Build the string to add

Dim NewEmployeeString As String =

EmployeeNameTextBox.Text & ", " & TitleComboBox.Text & ", " &
DepartmentComboBox.Text & ", " & SalaryTextBox.Text

'Add string to ListBox

EmployeeListBox.Items.Add(NewEmployeeString)

'Clear the form - ready to add another employee

EmployeeNameTextBox.Clear()

TitleComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1
 DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

SalaryTextBox.Clear()

'Set focus

EmployeeNameTextBox.Focus()

End If

End Sub

Private Sub ClearEmployeeListToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
ClearEmployeeListToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Use response variable to capture user response

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Clear employee listing Y/N?", "Yes or No",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)

'Test to confirm whether to clear listing

If ResponseDialogResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes
Then

EmployeeListBox.Items.Clear()

End If

End Sub

Private Sub ResetEmployeeToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender

As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
ResetEmployeeToolStripMenuItem.Click
 'Clear text box controls

EmployeeNameTextBox.Clear()

SalaryTextBox.Clear()

'Unselect title and department combo box controls and

'set Text property to empty string

TitleComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

DepartmentComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1

TitleComboBox.Text = String.Empty

DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

'Unselect the currently selected faculty member in the

Listbox

EmployeeListBox.SelectedIndex = -1

'Reset focus to the employee name text box

EmployeeNameTextBox.Focus()

End Sub

Private Sub DisplaySelectedToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
DisplaySelectedToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Use messagebox to display selected employee

If EmployeeListBox.SelectedIndex = -1 Then
 MessageBox.Show("You must select an employee member
to display.", "No Selection Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Error)

Else

MessageBox.Show(EmployeeListBox.SelectedItem.ToString, "Current
selection", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End If

End Sub

Private Sub CountDepartmentsToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
CountDepartmentsToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Display a message box with the count of the number of

departments

Dim MessageString As String = "Number of departments: " &

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Count.ToString()

Dim TitleString As String = "Count of Departments"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub

Private Sub RemoveDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
RemoveDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Declare dialog result variable

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Remove the selected department?", "Remove ?",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)
 If ResponseDialogResult = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes
Then

'Remove the selected department from the listing

DepartmentComboBox.Items.Remove(DepartmentComboBox.SelectedItem)

'This next line of code clears the Text

'property of the ComboBox – this is automatic

'for the Remove method, but not for the last

'item in a list.

DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

End If

End Sub

Private Sub RemoveAtDepartmentToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
RemoveAtDepartmentToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Try to remove the department if one is selected

Try

'Declare dialog result variable

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Remove the selected department?", "Remove ?",
MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)

If ResponseDialogResult =
Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes Then

'Remove the selected department from the listing

DepartmentComboBox.Items.RemoveAt(DepartmentComboBox.SelectedInde
x)
 'This next line of code clears the Text

'property of the ComboBox – this is automatic

'for the Remove method, but not for the last

'item in a list.

DepartmentComboBox.Text = String.Empty

End If

Catch ex As ArgumentOutOfRangeException

MessageBox.Show("You must select a department to

remove.", "No Selection Was Made", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Error)

End Try

End Sub

Private Sub CountToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
CountToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Demonstrates using nested For...Next loops.

Dim TotalLong As Long

Dim OuterIndexInteger As Integer

Dim InnerIndexInteger As Integer

'Start of the outer loop

For OuterIndexInteger = 1 To 3

'Start of the inner loop – each time we get here the

'inner loop starts all over again

For InnerIndexInteger = 1 To 6
 TotalLong += 1

CountListBox.Items.Add(TotalLong.ToString)

Next InnerIndexInteger

'Exited inner loop – control transfers to outer loop

Next OuterIndexInteger

MessageBox.Show("Finished Counting.")

End Sub

Private Sub FruitTextBox_TextChanged(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
FruitTextBox.TextChanged

'Initialize variables to control the search

Dim IndexInteger As Integer = 0

Dim FoundBoolean As Boolean = False

Dim ListItemString As String

'Start the search

Do While Not FoundBoolean And IndexInteger <

FruitListBox.Items.Count

'Compare the value in the TextBox to the ListBox

Items

ListItemString =
FruitListBox.Items(IndexInteger).ToString.ToUpper

If
ListItemString.StartsWith(FruitTextBox.Text.ToUpper) Then

'found a fruit name that starts with the Text

typed thus far
 FruitListBox.SelectedIndex = IndexInteger

FoundBoolean = True

Else

IndexInteger += 1

End If

Loop

If FoundBoolean = False Then

MessageBox.Show("That fruit is not in the list.",

"Not Found", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Exclamation)

End If

End Sub

Private Sub HelpToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
HelpToolStripMenuItem.Click

MessageBox.Show("Programmed by D. Bock", "About Me",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub

Private Sub AboutToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
AboutToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Display about message

Dim MessageString As String = "Programmed by D. Bock" &

ControlChars.NewLine & "Today's date and time: " & Date.Now

Dim TitleString As String = "About Ch07 VB University"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub
 Private Function ValidData() As Boolean

'Assume data is not valid

ValidData = False

Dim MessageString, TitleString As String

If EmployeeNameTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then

'Business rule #1 - Name cannot be missing

MessageString = "Employee name is missing."

TitleString = "Employee name error"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

EmployeeNameTextBox.Focus()

EmployeeNameTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf TitleComboBox.SelectedIndex = -1 Then

'Business rule #2 - Title must be selected

'from the list provided in the ComboBox

MessageString = "Title was not selected."

TitleString = "Title error"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

TitleComboBox.Focus()

ElseIf DepartmentComboBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then

'Business rule #3 - Department must be selected

'or typed into the Text property of the ComboBox

 MessageString = "Department name was not selected or
entered."

TitleString = "Department Name error"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

DepartmentComboBox.Focus()

ElseIf IsNumeric(SalaryTextBox.Text) = False OrElse

Decimal.Parse(SalaryTextBox.Text,
Globalization.NumberStyles.Currency) <= 0D Then

'Business rule #4 - Salary must be valid number > 0

MessageString = "Salary is missing or invalid-must be

greater than zero."

TitleString = "Salary error"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

SalaryTextBox.Focus()

SalaryTextBox.SelectAll()

Else

'Data passes all business rules

ValidData = True

End If

End Function

Private Sub ComputeInterestToolStripMenuItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
ComputeInterestToolStripMenuItem.Click

'Example For..Next loop that calculates compound

 'interest on an investment

Dim InvestmentAmountDecimal As Decimal = 1000D '$1000

Dim TermInteger As Integer = 5 '5 years

Dim InterestSingle As Single = 1.0F 'Beginning for 1st

compound

Dim InterestRateSingle As Single = 0.06F '6% interest

rate

'Compute total effective interest rate in loop

For Index = 1 To TermInteger

InterestSingle = InterestSingle * (1.0F +

InterestRateSingle)

Next Index

'Calculate total investment at the end of

'5 years including compound interest

Dim EndingValueDecimal = InvestmentAmountDecimal *

InterestSingle

MessageBox.Show("Ending balance: " &

EndingValueDecimal.ToString("C2"), "Your Balance",
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

End Sub

End Class

End of Notes