VB - Shorter code?

[mike2]

OK im sure that this is can get shorter :

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?

[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.

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

[si_the_geek]

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).

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

[si_the_geek]

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:

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.

[CornedBee]

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

[abcdefg]

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.

[CornedBee]

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

[dis1411]

how bout this

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