Visual Basic and Dynamic Code.....

I'm having quite an issue with Visual Basic.

I have a custom library which has a class in it. This class has several properties which I am interested in looking at. There is no problem retrieving the values as follows:

....vbcode....
x = className.propertyName
..../vbcode...

but this forces me to call each property seperately. What I would rather do is have the user type in a text box the property name he chooses and have x loaded with that property value.

....vbcode...
txt1.text = "propertyName"
x= className. & txt1.text
..../vbcode...

This of course does not work. What I am wondering is if there is any way to make this work. To execute a string as a piece of vb code?

Any suggestions or comments ? I'm really up the wall on this one.

This one goes back to when I learnt BASIC on an Amstrad CPC 6128 at the age of 12.

I wanted to write a program that did somthing like what you wanted to do. I wanted the user to input a string and the the program to be able to show what was in the variable with the same name as that string.

i.e

let a=12

<<USER INPUTS "A">

Program send back 12.

I just guess basic was never ment to analyse it's self, it wouldn't be basic.

so does this mean that I'm stuck with getting the user's input and using a silly case statement to execute a "code" version of that string. It sort of makes me wonder how a language could be so versitile without being able to perform such a simple task....(I guess it's also sort of funny that I have just now learned this now having been programming in VB ever since V2.......)

I'm not sure you can even do that - I never worked it out. Basic really can suck

No can do in VB... you can in FoxPro though. ;)

I have tried to do the same thing: reading text from a TextBox and then entering it into a file and reading the file again. All using the Ms Script Control and help from this scriptlet.
But unfortunately I got an error telling me an object is required: it seems I have no use from the controls in my form using the script engine. Can anyone help me here? E.g. telling me how to call a certain object or ActiveX control (.OCX) from the script file.

Thanks! :)

P.S. here's the link to the scriptlet:
http://members.aol.com/vbchenko/code...rce/script.txt

and here's the code I used:

Dim strcode As String

Open Application.Path & "\test.txt" For Input As #1
Do Until EOF(1)
Line Input #1, Data
strcode = strcode & Data & vbCrLf
Loop
Close #1

ScriptControl1.Language = "VBScript"
ScriptControl1.AddCode (strcode)

'Hello is the sub routine or function
ScriptControl1.Run ("hello") ' With "hello" being the script function's name

Actually, it can be done! It's a new feature in VB6.

Look into CallByName.

Here's a sample usage:
MsgBox CallByName(Form1, "Caption", VbGet)

Thanks a lot!

I am actually running this code from the VBA editor in Word 2000. But I've found the CallByName function, and used it as described:

CallByName(frmUpload, txtCode.Value, VbGet)

With frmUpload being my form and txtCode.Value being the code from the textbox.
Unfortunately it returns an error informing me that the method is not supported by the object.
Any ideas?

Thanks!! :)

Hold on! I have it:

CallByName(txtCode, "Value", VbGet)

But VB won't just execute this code: it expects an equal sign (=).
If I however try this:
a = CallByName(txtCode, "Value", VbGet) a

It expects a Sub or Function or something. What is the prob now? :confused:

Bye!

Of course, where's my brain? :p
To use it stand-alone, you have to put it like this:

CallByName txtCode, "Value", VbGet

Although the code doesn't execute yet (like this sitting in a Sub by itself). What's wrong?

Sincerely,

VB Code:

a = CallByName(txtCode, "Value", VbGet) 'NO TRAILING A!!!

Thanks a mil. but still it doesn't appear to execute the (VB)code from within the textbox :mad:


Any ideas? :confused:

MsgBox CallByName(classname, txtCode, VbGet)

:confused: Do you want to EXECUTE VB CODE, LIKE:

VB Code:

MsgBox "...GGGHHHJJJKKK"
Di m i As Long 
i = 100

I want to execute it like:

Sub hello()
CallByName txtCode, "Text", vbGet
End Sub

That OK? Because a messagebox displayed the contents correctly and txtCode is the name of my textbox control.

TNX!! :D

VB Code:

Sub hello() 
CallByName txtCode, "Text", vbGet 
End Sub

Yes, it's OK.

:D

It still doesn't execute :mad:

What is the problem?

I've tried to put a few simple pieces of VB into the textbox but it won't produce anything :mad:

e.g.
MsgBox "I'm going NUTS! :mad: "

Sub Hello()
MsgBox CallByName(txtCode, "Text", vbGet)
End Sub

If that doesn't work, tell me WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?!

there is a rotine in the vb dll that does this, it's like an api, but i don't remeber the name, it's what the immediate code window uses

look it up somewhere like on yahoo, or search here, i've posted it before

TNX, guyz! :cool:
Microbasic, I'm trying to actually RUN the (VB)code I typed into the (multline) Textbox. And many thanks for all the suggestions! :cool:

And, Gwdash, thanks for the suggestion, but what keywords exactly do I use to find the routine? :confused:

Later!!

Quote:

---

Originally posted by AndrzejAntoszkiewicz
What I am wondering is if there is any way to make this work. To execute a string as a piece of vb code?

Any suggestions or comments ? I'm really up the wall on this one.

---

I wanted the same capability and after a lot of checking around, I found two options that are close:

1) Script using the script control

2) VBA , which requires that you license VBA

As far as I know, you cannot execute user input VB code from your application (it has to be VBA or Script). If anyone finds otherwise, please let me know.

Attached is a small example that executes user input code. Not sure if this will help you or not. Good Luck!

here it is:

VB Code:

Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba6.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
 
' = = = =  For VB5
'Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba5.dll"  (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long,  ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
 
' = = = =  For Access 97/VBE.dll clients as Word 97 and Excel 97
'Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba332.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
 
Function FExecuteCode(stCode As String, Optional fCheckOnly As Boolean) As Boolean
    FExecuteCode = EbExecuteLine(StrPtr(stCode), 0&, 0&, Abs(fCheckOnly)) = 0
End Function
 
Private Sub Form_Load()
    Dim TheString As String
    
    TheString = "MsgBox ""This is a user generated dialog"""
    Debug.Print FExecuteCode(TheString, False)
End Sub

Finally,

I've been wondering the same thing for a LONG time.
{Well, only a couple of years.}

Thanks gwdash and Muddy!

:D :D :D
-Lou

Quote:

---

Originally posted by gwdash
here it is: ...

---

Thats awesome! I noticed that it doesnt recogize variables from the calling program, though.

Two questions reagrding this API:

1. Is there any way to execute a block of code?

2. Is there anyway to pass variables to/from the executed code?

Thanks for the info!

1. try multiple calls to the function, one for each line

2. yes:

VB Code:

TheString = "msgbox ""This is a " & MyVariable & " message"""
Debug.Print FExecuteCode(TheString, False)

Quote:

---

Originally posted by gwdash
1. try multiple calls to the function, one for each line

2. yes:

VB Code:

TheString = "msgbox ""This is a " & MyVariable & " message"""
Debug.Print FExecuteCode(TheString, False)

---

Thanks gwdash, but thats not quite what I meant. In your example the calling prog is converting the the variable to its contents before sending it to the API call.

suppose I wanted to execute this code

x=y+z

and I wanted to supply y and z and return the x for use by the calling prog. Also Id like the code string to have access to all prog properties (text1.text, etc) . Can this be done?

Thanks again for the information. This will help me out a lot if I can figure out how to make it work.

think of it as typing into the immediate window, anything you can do there, you can do with this function, it's the function used by the immediate window

I think that is a very useful function.

Thank you for the information.

I hate to be such a bother about this, but I can really use this if I can figure it out. In the following code, why does debug.print "hello" instead of the contents of text1.text?

Thanks for any help!

VB Code:

Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba6.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
Function FExecuteCode(stCode As String, Optional fCheckOnly As Boolean) As Boolean
    FExecuteCode = EbExecuteLine(StrPtr(stCode), 0&, 0&, Abs(fCheckOnly)) = 0
End Function
 
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Dim a As String
    a = "hello"
    Dim TheString As String
    TheString = "a=text1.text"
    Debug.Print a
End Sub

make a a public varaible, and put in the FExecuteCode line, and try again

a = "hello"
Dim TheString As String
TheString = "a=text1.text"
Debug.Print a


Because you are Debug.Print ing a, which is = "hello"
If you debug print TheString, you will get "a=text1.text"

-Lou

that was embarrassing!

Now why doesnt this work?

VB Code:

Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba6.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
Function FExecuteCode(stCode As String, Optional fCheckOnly As Boolean) As Boolean
    FExecuteCode = EbExecuteLine(StrPtr(stCode), 0&, 0&, Abs(fCheckOnly)) = 0
End Function
 
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Dim a As String
    a = "hello"
    Dim TheString As String
    TheString = "a=text1.text"
    Debug.Print FExecuteCode(TheString, False)
    Debug.Print a
End Sub

make "a" a public variable

sorry

ok, tu=ried this and i get an "object required" error. any ideas?

VB Code:

Public a As String
Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba6.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
Function FExecuteCode(stCode As String, Optional fCheckOnly As Boolean) As Boolean
    FExecuteCode = EbExecuteLine(StrPtr(stCode), 0&, 0&, Abs(fCheckOnly)) = 0
End Function
 
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Dim TheString As String
    a = "hello"
    TheString = "a = text1.text"
    Debug.Print FExecuteCode(TheString, False)
    Debug.Print a
End Sub

is this is a form? make it Private, not Public, i should have said object scope. also try making it like

form1.text1.text

Quote:

---

Originally posted by gwdash
is this is a form? make it Private, not Public, i should have said object scope. also try making it like

form1.text1.text

---

OK the following gets rid of the error, but a debug.prints as "hello" . I've tried a both as a Public and Private string.

This is a form with 1 textbox and 1 command button.

Thanks for hanging in there with me so long.

VB Code:

'Public a As String
Private a As String
Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba6.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
Function FExecuteCode(stCode As String, Optional fCheckOnly As Boolean) As Boolean
    FExecuteCode = EbExecuteLine(StrPtr(stCode), 0&, 0&, Abs(fCheckOnly)) = 0
End Function
 
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Dim TheString As String
 
    a = "hello"
    TheString = "a = form1.text1.text"
    Debug.Print FExecuteCode(TheString, False)
    Debug.Print a
End Sub

Quote:

---

Originally posted by badgers
sorry

---

:p no worries ... I deserved to be embarrassed on that one! :D

i tried adding,

FBExecuteCode("Debug.Print a", False)

and it worked as you wanted
weird

Two questions:

1) Where must the file VBA6.DLL be located? In windows\system32?
When it is tells me all ties with the client program are broken.
BTW: I run the code from the Word VBA editor.

2) How do you get the source code to display the way it does in the VBeditor? D'you just paste it? :confused:

It seems a heated debate has been rekindled :D

Thanks, all! :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally posted by gwdash
i tried adding,

FBExecuteCode("Debug.Print a", False)

and it worked as you wanted
weird

---

That is strange. It does seem to see the var in that case. Doesn't seem to let you modify var contents though.

So close ..... so far

in response to my previous sorry post.

It was not directed at anyone, I had posted a section of code that was odd.

I deleted it before anyone else saw it.

My problem is that the code works fine when I am in the IDE and I hit the run tool bar button.

But the code does not run when I make an executable.
I get an error indicating that it can not find the dll.

Does anyone else have a problem with the code working in the IDE but not in an executable?

Quote:

---

Does anyone else have a problem with the code working in the IDE but not in an executable?

---

This, to me, at this time is the a bit of a 'holy grail' piece of code. I'd very much like to know why the code won't work in an EXE ?

Help P-er-leeze ?

FBP...

attached is the code I am using with VB 6 enterprise.

if you type in:
a=10
msgbox a

you should see a message box with the text 10 in it

now this works from the vb6 ide.

now make an executable and see if it works.
I get an error that the vba6.dll can't be found.


If I change the declare to use vba332.dll I get an error:
cant find the dll
So I change the function declare to point to the dll like this:
Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VBA\vba332.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long

now I get an error as such:
The instruction at "0x65101d27" referenced memory at "0x000000". them memory could not be "read"
click OK to terminate the application
click cancel to debug the application

if I change the declare to find the path of the vba6.dll(it is not in the system32 dir) I get an error like the one above. cant read the memory..........yadda yadda yadda...

see if this works for you(the zip is source code)

Okay, I've got this code in a form:

VB Code:

Option Explicit
Private Declare Function EbExecuteLine Lib "vba6.dll" (ByVal pStringToExec As Long, ByVal Foo1 As Long, ByVal Foo2 As Long, ByVal fCheckOnly As Long) As Long
 
Private Sub cmdRunProcedure_Click()
    FExecuteCode txtProcedure, False
End Sub
 
Function FExecuteCode(stCode As String, Optional fCheckOnly As Boolean) As Boolean
    FExecuteCode = EbExecuteLine(StrPtr(stCode), 0&, 0&, Abs(fCheckOnly)) = 0
End Function
 
Public Sub SubTest()
    MsgBox "This worked"
End Sub

If I type MsgBox "Hello world" into my textbox, it gives me a "Hello world" message box. But, if I type SubTest into my textbox, nothing happens.

Any idea why?

Try preceeding the function call with the object name...

call Form1.mysub

The real questione' is.... does it work in an Exe for U ???

If so why ? cos it don't work for me !

FBP

D'oh :rolleyes:

You're right, though - it still doesn't work in an exe. :(

Ok, I read through all these posts and it looks like you've found the "API" that the debug window uses to run VB code and you're wondering why it doesn't work as an EXE. The answer looks obvious to me.

When you compile your program, it doesn't store things such as comments and variable names. So how can a compiled exe ever run code the user types in as if it's part of the program? The simplest part of the problem is that the variables have no names anymore.

The reason why it works in the IDE is because everything is being compiled with all sorts of debug code so you can step through code and check variables and whatever else you do when you're debugging a program. When you compile the code into an EXE, all the extra debug code is gone. There's nothing for the function to work with. This is just a simple way of putting it. It actually gets a bit more complicated than that.

Also, check out the DLL this is coming from. Chances are, you can't distribute it with your app and it only comes with VB. I could be wrong about that, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if I was right.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Tygur
Ok, I read through all these posts and it looks like you've found the "API" that the debug window uses to run VB code and you're wondering why it doesn't work as an EXE. The answer looks obvious to me.

When you compile your program, it doesn't store things such as comments and variable names. So how can a compiled exe ever run code the user types in as if it's part of the program? The simplest part of the problem is that the variables have no names anymore.

---

For me it doesn't recognize variables in the IDE. Nothing about it works as an exe.

Ah well, the Holy Grail eludes me again...

One thing, if we can't use this object compiled, whatof' the script control, being a VBScript engine subset, will/can it recognise internal declared functions Anyone know ?

fBp...

Quote:

---

Originally posted by FATBOYPEE
Ah well, the Holy Grail eludes me again...

One thing, if we can't use this object compiled, whatof' the script control, being a VBScript engine subset, will/can it recognise internal declared functions Anyone know ?

fBp...

---

Almost surely not. I will admit I havent tested it though

Quote:

---

Originally posted by FATBOYPEE
Ah well, the Holy Grail eludes me again...

One thing, if we can't use this object compiled, whatof' the script control, being a VBScript engine subset, will/can it recognise internal declared functions Anyone know ?

fBp...

---

you can have many subs in the string to be executed and they can all call each other. You just can't make the leap back into the main prog. You are stuck with passing vars in and out as variants.

Are you thereby saying, if my main Prog has a sub in a module, can I call it using the Script control...

This probably really IS a stupid question.....

fbP..:cool:

Quote:

---

Originally posted by FATBOYPEE
Are you thereby saying, if my main Prog has a sub in a module, can I call it using the Script control...

This probably really IS a stupid question.....

fbP..:cool:

---

no, Im saying you cannot do that (though I havent specifically tested this).

I was just saying the the following type of string sent to the script control will work:

Sub hello()
Call goodbye()
end

Sub goodbye()
msgbox()
end

Guessed as much....

Thanks for that, not quite wot I'm after. I'm after being able to allow a 'framework' kind of listener to call "UserControl"."SubRoutine" without having an object reference. I can use the Callbyname but it needs an object... which the listener won't know.....

humph...:mad:

Thanks again.....:)

Quote:

---

Originally posted by FATBOYPEE
Are you thereby saying, if my main Prog has a sub in a module, can I call it using the Script control...

This probably really IS a stupid question.....

fbP..:cool:

---

check out this prog. should be able to test any "what can the script control do" questions with it.

Enjoy!

Too bad, this ain't JavaScript and HTML, coz there it's real EZ!

I can't wait to try it all out... Does anybody know which DLL is responsible for this API in VBA (Word2000)? :confused:


Thanks All!
Remko