Chapter 12 Classes, Collections and

Scrollable Controls
Topics

•Classes
•Abstract Data Types
•Objects, Properties, Methods
•Exceptions
•Collections
•Object Browser
•Scrollable Controls
 Abstract Data Types
• An abstract data type (ADT) is a data type
created by a programmer
• ADTs are important in computer science and
object-oriented programming
• An abstraction is a model of something that
includes only its general characteristics
• Dog is an abstraction
– Defines a general type of animal but not a specific
breed, color, or size
– A dog is like a data type
– A specific dog is an instance of the data type
 Classes
• A class is a program structure that defines an
abstract data type
– First create the class
– Then create instances of the class
• Class instances share common attributes
• VB forms and controls are classes
– Each control in the toolbox represents a class
– Placing a button
on a form creates
an instance, or
object, of the class
 Class Properties, Methods, & Events

• Programs communicate with an object using the

properties and methods of the class
• Class properties example: Buttons have Location,
Text, and Name properties
• Class methods example: The Focus method functions
identically for every single button
• Class event procedures: Each button in a form has a
different click event procedure
 Object Oriented Design

• The challenge is to design classes that effectively

cooperate and communicate
• Analyze application requirements to determine ADTs
that best implement the specifications
• Classes are fundamental building blocks
– Typically represent nouns of some type
• A well-designed class may outlive the application
– Other uses for the class may be found
 Object Oriented Design Example
Specifications:
We need to keep a list of students that lets us track the
courses they have completed. Each student has a transcript
that contains all information about his or her completed
courses. At the end of each semester, we will calculate the
grade point average of each student. At times, users will
search for a particular course taken by a student.
• Nouns from the specification above typically become
classes in the program design
• Verbs such as calculate GPA and search become
methods of those classes
 OOD Class Characteristics
Class Attributes (properties) Operations (methods)

Student LastName, FirstName, Display, Input

IdNumber

StudentList AllStudents, Count Add, Remove,

FindStudent

Course Semester, Name, Display, Input

Grade,Credits

Transcript CourseList, Count Display, Search,

CalcGradeAvg
 Interface and Implementation
• Class interface is the portion of the class visible to the
application programmer
– Made available by creating properties, methods, and events
that are public
• Class implementation is the portion of the class
hidden from client programs
– Kept hidden by designating member variables, properties,
& methods as private
• Hiding of data and procedures inside a class is
referred to as encapsulation
 Class Declaration
Public Class Student
MemberDeclarations
End Class
• Student is the name of the class
• Examples of MemberDeclarations
are presented in the following slides
• To create a new class:
– Click Add New Item button on toolbar
– Select Class from Add New Item dialog box
– Provide a name for the class and click Add
– Adds a new, empty class file (.vb) to project
 Member Variables

• A variable declared inside a class declaration

• Syntax:
AccessSpecifer VariableName As DataType

• AccessSpecifier may be Public or Private

• Example:
Public Class Student
Public strLastName As String 'Holds last name
Public strFirstName As String 'Holds first name
Public strId As String 'Holds ID number
End Class
 Creating an Instance of a Class

• A two step process creates an instance of a class

• Declare a variable whose type is the class
Dim freshman As Student

• Create instance of the class with New keyword and

assign the instance to the variable
freshman = New Student()

• freshman defined here as an object variable

• Can accomplish both steps in one statement
Dim freshman As New Student()
 Accessing Members
• Can work with Public member variables of a class
object in code using this syntax:
objectVariable.memberVariable
• For example:
– If freshman references a Student class object
– And Student class has public member variables
strFirstName, strLastName, and strID
– Can store values in member variables with
freshman.strFirstName = "Joy"
freshman.strLastName = "Robinson"
freshman.strId = "23G794"
 Property Procedure

• A property procedure is a function that defines a

property
• Controls access to property values
• Procedure has two sections: Get and Set
– Get section executes when value is retrieved
– Set section executes when value is stored
• Properties almost always declared Public to allow
access from outside the class
• Set section often provides data validation logic
 Property Procedure Syntax

Public Property PropertyName() As DataType

Get
Statements
End Get
Set(ParameterDeclaration)
Statements
End Set
End Property
 Property Procedure Example
Public Class Student
' Member variables
Private sngTestAvg As Single

Public Property TestAverage() As Single

Get
Return sngTestAvg
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Single)
If value >= 0.0 And value <= 100.0 Then
sngTestAvg = value
Else
MessageBox.Show( _
"Invalid test average.", "Error")
End If
End Set
End Property
End Class
 Setting and Validating a Property
• TestAverage property is set as shown:
Dim freshman as New Student()
freshman.TestAverage = 82.3
• Passes 82.3 into value parameter of Set
– If in the range 0.0 to 100.0, value is stored
– If outside the range, message box displayed instead of value
being stored

Set(ByVal value As Single)

If value >= 0.0 And value <= 100.0 Then
sngTestAvg = value
Else
MessageBox.Show( _
"Invalid test average.", "Error")
End If
End Set
 Read-Only Properties
• Useful at times to make a property read-only
• Allows access to property values but cannot change
these values from outside the class
• Add ReadOnly keyword after access specifier
Public ReadOnly Property PropertyName() As DataType
Get
Statements
End Get
End Property

• This causes the propertyName to be read-only -- not

settable from outside of the class
Read-Only Property Example
' TestGrade property procedure
ReadOnly Property TestGrade() As Char
Get
If sngTestAverage >= 90
return "A"c
Else If sngTestAverage >= 80
return "B"c
Else If sngTestAverage >= 70
return "C"c
Else If sngTestAverage >= 60
return "D"c
Else
return "F"c
End If
End Get
End Property
 Object Removal & Garbage Collection
• Memory space is consumed when objects are
instantiated
• Objects no longer needed should be removed
• Set object variable to Nothing so it no longer
references the object
freshman = Nothing
• Object is a candidate for garbage collection when it is
no longer referenced by any object variable
• The garbage collector monitors for and automatically
destroys objects no longer needed
 Going Out of Scope

• An object variable instantiated within a procedure is

local to that procedure
• An object goes out of scope when
– Referenced only by local variables and
– The procedure ends
• Object removed once it goes out of scope
• An object instantiated in a procedure and assigned to
a global variable is not removed
– Reference remains when procedure ends
 Going Out of Scope, Example

Sub CreateStudent()
Dim sophomore As Student
sophomore = New Student()
sophomore.FirstName = "Travis"
sophomore.LastName = "Barnes"
sophomore.IdNumber = "17H495"
sophomore.TestAverage = 94.7
g_studentVar = sophomore
End Sub

With this statement, sophomore will not go out of scope.

Without this statement, it will go out of scope when the
procedure ends. (g_studentVar is a module-level variable.)
 Comparing Object Variables

• Multiple variables can reference the same object

Dim collegeStudent As Student
Dim transferStudent As Student
collegeStudent = New Student()
transferStudent = collegeStudent

• Can test if two variables refer to same object

– Must use the Is operator
– The = operator cannot be used to test for this

If collegeStudent Is transferStudent Then

' Perform some action
End If
IsNot & Nothing Object Comparisons
• Use the IsNot operator to determine that two variables
do not reference the same object
If collegeStudent IsNot transferStudent Then
' Perform some action
End If

• Use the special value Nothing to determine if a

variable has no object reference
If collegeStudent Is Nothing Then
' Perform some action
End If
 Creating an Array of Objects

• Can create an entire array of object variables

– Declare an array whose type is a class
– Instantiate an object for each element

' Declare the array

Dim mathStudents(9) As Student
Dim i As Integer
For i = 0 To 9
' Assign each element to an object
mathStudents(i) = New Student()
Next i
 Objects As Procedure Arguments
• Can use object variables as arguments to a procedure
or function
– Example: student object s as an argument
Sub DisplayStudentGrade(ByVal s As Student)
' Displays a student’s grade.
MessageBox.Show("The grade for " & _
s.FirstName & " " & s.LastName & _
" is " & s.TestGrade.ToString)
End Sub
• Pass object variable with the procedure call
DisplayStudentGrade(freshman)
 Objects Passed ByVal and ByRef

• If argument is declared using ByRef

– Values of object properties may be changed
– The original object variable may be assigned to a different
object
• If argument is declared using ByVal
– Values of object properties may be changed
– The original object variable may not be assigned to a
different object
 Functions Can Return Objects

• Example below instantiates a student object

• Prompts for and sets its property values
• Then returns the instantiated object
Dim freshman As Student = GetStudent()
…
Function GetStudent() As Student
Dim s As New Student()
s.FirstName = InputBox("Enter first name.")
s.LastName = InputBox("Enter last name.")
s.IdNumber = InputBox("Enter ID number.")
s.TestAvg = CSng(InputBox("Enter test average."))
Return s
End Function
 Class Methods
• In addition to properties, a class may also contain Sub
procedures and functions
• Methods are Sub procedures and functions defined in
a class
• Typically operate on data stored in the class
• The following slide shows a Clear method for the
Student class
– Method called with freshman.Clear()
– Method clears member data in the Student class object
referenced by freshman
 Clear Method for Student Class
Public Class Student
' Member variables
Private strLastName As String 'Holds last name
Private strFirstName As String 'Holds first name
Private strId As String 'Holds ID number
Private sngTestAvg As Single 'Holds test avg
(...Property procedures omitted...)

' Clear method

Public Sub Clear()
strFirstName = String.Empty
strLastName = String.Empty
strId = String.Empty
sngTestAvg = 0.0
End Sub
End Class
 Constructors
• A constructor is a method called automatically when
an instance of the class is created
• Think of constructors as initialization routines
• Useful for initializing member variables or performing
other startup operations
• To create a constructor, simply create a Sub procedure
named New within the class
• Next slide shows a Student class constructor
– The statement freshman = New Student()
– Creates an instance of the Student class
– Executes constructor to initialize properties of the Student
object referenced by freshman
 Constructor Example
Public Class Student
' Member variables
Private strLastName As String 'Holds last name
Private strFirstName As String 'Holds first name
Private strId As String 'Holds ID number
Private sngTestAvg As Single 'Holds test avg

' Constructor
Public Sub New()
strFirstName = "(unknown)"
strLastName = "(unknown)"
strId = "(unknown)"
sngTestAvg = 0.0
End Sub
‘ The rest of this class is omitted.
End Class
 Finalizers
• VB provides a class method named Finalize
• Called automatically just before garbage collector
removes an instance of a class
• Select Finalize from method name drop-down list to
let Visual Basic create the following template
Protected Overrides Sub
Finalize()
MyBase.Finalize()
End Sub

• Add your code following MyBase.Finalize()

 Overload Method Definitions
Overloading is the concept of defining multiple methods in the a
class using the same procedure name; however, the parameter list
of the procedures must be different.

Example 1 - ToString method of the Decimal class

Dim amount As Decimal = 32.3

amountTextBox.Text = s.ToString() 'displays 32.3
amountTextBox.Text = s.ToString("C2") 'displays $32.30

The first ToString() has no parameter; the second ToString("C2") has

one String parameter.
 Overload Method Definitions (Cont'd)
Example 2 – Overloaded Constructors
Public Sub New() 'default constructor
_month = String.Empty
_day = String.Empty
End Sub

Public Sub New(ByVal monthNum As String, ByVal _

dayNum As String)
Month = monthNum
Day = dayNum
End Sub
 Overload Method Definitions (Cont'd)
To overload methods other than constructors, you must use the
keyword Overloads.

Public Overloads Function CalculateGross(ByVal salary As _

Decimal) As Decimal
Return salary / 24D
End Function

Public Overloads Function CalculateGross(ByVal hours As _

Decimal, ByVal rate As Decimal) As Decimal
Return hours * rate
End Function
 Using the Output Window
• Usually shown at bottom of Visual Studio display
• If not appearing, click View, Other Windows, then
Output to display
• A valuable debugging tool
• Messages about an application displayed here
• Can add your own messages to Output window using
Debug.WriteLine method
Debug.WriteLine(Output)

• Causes the expression Output to appear in the

Output window
• Insert following code in form Load event to enable
Debug.Listeners.Add(New ConsoleTraceListener())
 Collections
• A collection is similar to an array
• A single unit that contains several items
• Can access items in a collection by numeric index
• A collection’s indices begin at one, not zero
• Collections automatically expand and shrink as items
are added and removed
• The items stored in a collection do not have to be of
the same type
 A Collection is a Class
Dim customers As Collection
customers = New Collection()

' Or alternatively

Dim customers As New Collection()

• New collections are instantiations of the Collection
Class
• The Collection Class provides methods and
properties for use with individual collections
 Adding Items to a Collection
Object.Add(Item [, Key] [, Before] [,After])

• Add is a method of the Collection class

• Object is a variable that refers to a collection
• Item can be an object, variable, or value that is added
to the collection
• Key is a unique value optionally used to identify a
member of the collection
• Before or After optionally specifies where a new item
should be placed in the collection
• Default is to insert at the end of the collection
 Uses of Before and After

• Add custData with key "Smith" before the item with

key "Thomas“
customers.Add(custData, "Smith", "Thomas")

• Add custData with key "Smith" after the item with

key "Reece "
customers.Add(custData, "Smith",, "Reece")

• Add custData after 3rd item in collection

customers.Add(custData,,,3)
 Add Method Exceptions

• An exception can occur when adding to a

collection so Try-Catch should be used
– Cannot add member with same key as another
member of the collection
– If a key or index is specified for a Before or After,
the value must exist
Try
customers.Add(custData, "Smith")
Catch ex as ArgumentException
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
End Try
 Accessing Item by Their Indices
• Can access an item in a collection using an index
value
• Index value can be used in two ways:
– Using the collection’s Item method
Object.Item(Index)
– Item is the default method so it can be omitted
Object(Index)
• Get value at index 3 of names collection by:
names.Item(3) –or- names(3)
 IndexOutOfRange Exception

• If an invalid index is encountered, an index out of

range exception will occur
• Should use Try-Catch to trap such messages
• Ctype casts collection object to Customer object
Try
Dim cust as Customer
'Get collection index from user input
Dim index as Integer = CInt(txtIndex.Text)
'Locate the customer in the collection
cust = CType(customers.Item(index), Customer)
Catch ex as IndexOutOfRangeException
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
End Try
 The Count Property
• The Count property of a collection gives the number
of current items in the collection
• Note that, unlike an array, a collection index is not
zero based
– First item in a collection found at index 1
• Following code adds collection items to a list box

Dim intX As Integer

For intX = 1 To names.Count
lstNames.Items.Add(names(intX).ToString())
Next intX
 Searching for an Item by Key Value
• Item method can be used to retrieve an item with a
specific index
Object.Item(Expression)

• If Expression is a string, it is used as a key to search

for a member with a matching key
• If Expression is numeric, it is used as an index value
for the item
• If no item is found (via key or index), an exception
occurs
 Retrieving Item Examples
• Find studentCollection item with key 49812
– If Option Strict on, must cast result to Student
Dim s as Student
s = CType(studentCollection.Item("49812"), Student)

• Retrieve all members by index and display LastName

property in a message box
Dim intIndex as Integer
Dim s as Student
For intIndex = 1 to studentCollection.Count
s = Ctype(studentCollection.Item(intIndex), Student)
MessageBox.Show(s.LastName)
Next
 Using References Versus Copies
• When an Item in a collection is a fundamental VB
data type, only a copy is retrieved
– This code does not change the item at index 1
Dim intNum as Integer
intNum = CType(numbers(1), Integer)
intNum = 0

• The Item in this collection is an object so:

– A reference is returned instead of a copy
– LastName of object in collection is changed

Dim s as Student
s = CType(studentCollection.Item("49812"), Student)
s.LastName = "Griffin"
 For Each Loop with a Collection

• Can use a For Each loop to read members of a

collection
– Eliminates the counter variable required to use a
For…Next
– Also no need to compare to Count property
Dim s As Student
For Each s In studentCollection
MessageBox.Show(s.LastName)
Next s
 Removing Members of a Collection
Object.Remove(Expression)

• Remove is a method of the Collection class

• Object refers to collection Member removed from
• Expression can be
– Numeric and interpreted as an index
– Or a string and interpreted as a key value
– Exception thrown if Expression not found
 Removing Member Examples

• Verify “49812” is a key value in collection, then

remove member with this key value
If studentCollection.Contains("49812) Then
studentCollection.Remove("49812")
End If

• Verify index location 7 exists in collection, then

remove member at this index location
Dim intIndex As Integer = 7
If intIndex > 0 and _
intIndex <= studentCollection.Count Then
studentCollection.Remove(intIndex)
End If
 Working with Collections

• Since a collection is an instance of a class

– Procedures accept collections as arguments
– Functions can return a collection
– Follow same guidelines as any class object
• Parallel collections work like parallel arrays
– Can use index to relate parallel collections just as we did
with arrays
– Or can use key values to relate collections
Student Collection Application Forms

 Select student ID number

from list box to see detail
information for the student
 Click Remove Student
button remove an instance
of the Student class
 Click Add Student button to
create a new instance of the
Student class
 Add Student form
 Using the Object Browser

• A dialog box with information about objects used in a

project
• Allows you to examine
– Information about forms used in a project
– Classes created for the project
– Other components used by VB in the project
• Tutorial 12-3 uses the Object Browser to examine the
Student Collection project
 Object Browser, Example

Student class selected Class members shown

 Visual Appearance and Usage
• HScrollBar and VScrollBar
look like normal scroll bars
• TrackBar has an arrow pointer
as the slider with tick marks
• Scrollable controls hold
integers in their Value property
– Position of slider corresponds to Value
– Move scroll bar to increase or decrease Value
– Right increases, left decreases horizontal bar
– Up increases, down decreases vertical bar
 Scrollable Control Properties
• Minimum – the bar’s lowest possible value
• Maximum – the bar's highest possible value
• Value – the bar's value at the current position
• LargeChange – change in the Value property with a
mouse click on/near the slider
• SmallChange – change in the Value property for a
mouse click on an arrow at the end
• TickFrequency - for TrackBar only, the number of
units between tick marks
– With min=0 and max=1000, if Tick Frequency is 100, 10 tick marks are
shown on the bar
 Coding for Scrollable Controls

• Any change to the position of a scroll bar generates a

Scroll event
– Allows program to react to a shift in scroll bar
• Standard prefixes for these controls
– Horizontal scroll bar is hsb
– Vertical scroll bar is vsb
– TrackBar is tb
• Tutorial 12-4 demonstrates how to set up Scroll
events and use of these controls
 Why Inheritance?
• Inheritance allows new classes to derive their
characteristics from existing classes
• The Student class may have several types of students
such as
– GraduateStudent
– ExchangeStudent
– StudentEmployee
• These can become new classes and share all the
characteristics of the Student class
• Each new class would then add specialized
characteristics that differentiate them
 Base and Derived Classes

• The Base Class is a general-purpose class that other

classes may be based on
• A Derived Class is based on the base class and
inherits characteristics from it
• Can think of the base class as a parent and the derived
class as a child
 The Vehicle Class (Base Class)
• Consider a Vehicle class with the following:
– Private variable for number of passengers
– Private variable for miles per gallon
– Public property for number of passengers
(Passengers)
– Public property for miles per gallon
(MilesPerGallon)
• This class holds general data about a vehicle
• Can create more specialized classes from the Vehicle
class
 The Truck Class (Derived Class)
• Declared as: Public Class Truck
Inherits Vehicle
' Other new properties
' Additional methods
End Class

• Truck class derived from Vehicle class

– Inherits all non-private methods, properties, and variables
of Vehicle class
• Truck class defines two properties of its own
– MaxCargoWeight – holds top cargo weight
– FourWheelDrive – indicates if truck is 4WD
 Instantiating the Truck Class
• Instantiated as: Dim pickUp as New Truck()
pickUp.Passengers = 2
pickUp.MilesPerGallon = 18
pickUp.MaxCargoWeight = 2000
Pickup.FourWheelDrive = True

• Values stored in MaxCargoWeight and

FourWheelDrive properties
– Properties declared explicitly by Truck class
• Values also stored in MilesPerGallon and
Passengers properties
– Properties inherited from Vehicle class
 Overriding Properties and Methods
• Sometimes a base class property procedure or method
must work differently for a derived class
– Can override base class method or property
– Must write the method or property as desired in the derived
class using same name
• When an object of the derived class accesses the
property or calls the method
– VB uses overridden version in derived class
– Version in base class is not used
 Property Override Example
• Vehicle class has no restriction on number of
passengers
• But may wish to restrict the Truck class to two
passengers at most
• Can override Vehicle class Passengers property by:
– Coding Passengers property in derived class
– Specify Overridable in base class property
– Specify Overrides in derived class property
 Overridable Base Class Property
• Overridable keyword added to base class
property procedure
Public Overridable Property Passengers() As Integer
Get
Return intPassengers
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Integer)
intPassengers = value
End Set
End Property
 Overridden Derived Class Property

• Overrides keyword and new logic added to

derived class property procedure
Public Overrides Property Passengers() As Integer
Get
Return MyBase.Passengers
End Get
Set(ByVal value As Integer)
If value >= 1 And value <= 2 Then
MyBase.Passengers = value
Else
MessageBox.Show("Passengers must be 1 or 2", _
"Error")
End If
End Set
End Property
 Overriding Methods

• Overriding a method is similar to a property

• Specify Overridable and Overrides keywords
• An overridable base class method
Public Overridable Sub ProcedureName()

Public Overridable Function ProcedureName() As DataType

• An overriding derived class method

Public Overrides Sub ProcedureName()

Public Overrides Function ProcedureName() As DataType

 Overriding the ToString Method

• Every programmer created class is derived from a

built-in class named Object
• Object class has a method named ToString which
returns a fully-qualified class name
• Method can be overridden to return a string
representation of data stored in an object
 ToString Override Example

• Object class ToString method is Overridable

• Vehicle class might override the ToString method as
shown below
' Overriden ToString method
Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
' Return a string representation
' of a vehicle.
Dim str As String

str = "Passengers: " & intPassengers.ToString & _

" MPG: " & sngMPG.ToString
Return str
End Function
 Base & Derived Class Constructors

• A constructor (named New) may be defined for both

the base class and a derived class
• When a new object of the derived class is created,
both constructors are executed
– The constructor of the base class will be called first
– Then the constructor of the derived class will be called
 Protected Members

• In addition to Private and Public, the access specifier

may be Protected
– Protected base class members are treated as public to
classes derived from this base
– Protected base class members are treated as private to
classes not derived from this base

• Tutorial 12-5 provides an opportunity to work with

base and derived classes