VB - Shorter code?

OK im sure that this is can get shorter :

VB Code:

If lstSeeds.ListCount < 16 Then
        MsgBox "Not Enough Seeds", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Seeds"
    Else
        If lstSeeds.ListCount > 16 Then
            MsgBox "Too Many Seeds", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Seeds"
        Else
            If lstSeeds.ListCount = 16 Then
                If lstLadder.ListCount > 8 Then
                    MsgBox "Too Many Ladder Rankings", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Ladder Rankings"
                Else
                    If lstLadder.ListCount < 8 Then
                        MsgBox "Not Enough Ladder Rankings", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Ladder Rankings"
                    Else
                        If lstLadder.ListCount = 8 Then
                            If lstWildcards.ListCount < 8 Then
                                    MsgBox "Not Enough Wildcards", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Wildcards"
                                Else
                                    If lstWildcards.ListCount > 8 Then
                                        MsgBox "Too Many Wildcards", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Wildcards"
                                    Else
                                        If lstWildcards.ListCount = 8 Then
                                            frmBracket.Show
                                        End If
                                    End If
                             End If
                        End If
                    End If
                End If
            End If
        End If
    End If

Any ideas?

First, I think VB has an Elsif or Elseif keyword that you can use to get rid of the useless indentation and a lot of End Ifs.

Then, you have a few redundant ifs. If you first test x < n, then x > n, then you don't need to test x == n in the final case, as it's guaranteed to be true. This applies to these three lines:
If lstSeeds.ListCount = 16 Then
If lstLadder.ListCount = 8 Then
If lstWildcards.ListCount = 8 Then

basically the main improvement can be made by using Select Case statements - which is basically a block of "If"s that check the same variable.

Also, you were doing checks that werent needed (like "If lstSeeds.ListCount = 16 Then"), as they must be true for them to be run in the first place (as you have already eliminated <16 and >16).

VB Code:

Select Case lstSeeds.ListCount 
    Case < 16:   MsgBox "Not Enough Seeds", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Seeds"
    Case > 16:   MsgBox "Too Many Seeds", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Seeds"
    Case Else '(by now you already know it must be 16!)
         Select Case lstLadder.ListCount 
         Case > 8:  MsgBox "Too Many Ladder Rankings", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Ladder Rankings"
         Case < 8:  MsgBox "Not Enough Ladder Rankings", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Ladder Rankings"
         Case Else
             Select Case lstWildcards.ListCount 
             Case < 8:  MsgBox "Not Enough Wildcards", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Wildcards"
             Case > 8:  MsgBox "Too Many Wildcards", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Wildcards"
             Case Else
                               frmBracket.Show
             End Select
         End Select
    End Select

Quote:

---

Originally posted by CornedBee
First, I think VB has an Elsif or Elseif keyword that you can use to get rid of the useless indentation and a lot of End Ifs.

---

True, you could have this:

VB Code:

If lstSeeds.ListCount < 16 Then
    MsgBox "Not Enough Seeds", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Seeds"
ElseIf lstSeeds.ListCount > 16 Then
    MsgBox "Too Many Seeds", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Seeds"
Else
    If lstLadder.ListCount > 8 Then
        MsgBox "Too Many Ladder Rankings", vbOKOnly, "Too Many Ladder Rankings"
    ElseIf lstLadder.ListCount < 8 Then
        MsgBox "Not Enough Ladder Rankings", vbOKOnly, "Not Enough Ladder Rankings"
    Else
....

I think that the Select Case version is much more readable though.

Not for me, I'm not used to expressions being allowed in a multiple-branch structure.

You should use select case because select case is fast and gains speed over nested ifs the more ifs you use. A select case is implemented as a table of pointers to all the label names you use so its real fast.

It's not implemented as such if the compiler can't translate it to that. Which is the case here, I'm pretty sure.

how bout this

VB Code:

If lstSeeds.ListCount <> 16 Then
    MsgBox "please enter 16 seeds"
ElseIf lstLadder.ListCount <> 8 Then
    MsgBox "please enter 8 rankings"
ElseIf lstWildcards.ListCount <> 8 Then
    MsgBox "please enter 8 wildcards"
Else
    frmBracket.Show
End If

in the original code you tell the user they've entered too much or too little, but make them guess the actual number youre looking for :D