Getting data from a text file

[wandoprog]

How would I do this, we are working on a program where questions are taken out of a text file and used in this trivia game we are making. Another problem we have to solve is how to store the number of question you are, or the point of the game you are in. Would you just use a static variable? Thanks for all the help
Drew

[kedaman]

This will load all qwestions into an array of variable length strings:

'in declarations
Private Qwestions() as string
'loading procedure
Dim buffer as string
Open file for binary as 1
  if lof(1) then
    buffer=space(lof(1))
    Get#1,,buffer
    qwestions=split(buffer,vbcrlf)
  end if
close 1

And you should use a private variable for score or public/global if you have several forms.

[wandoprog]

Now, how should I prepare the text file? Thanks
Drew

[samdv]

kedaman, I think the newer way of opening text files is easier to understand. You can tell the die-hard VB programmers by how they open files

Another way of doing it is to make a reference to Microsoft Scripting Runtime control using Project>>References. Then the following code (which I find easier to understand) should work.

'Declarations
Dim FSys as New FileSystemObject
Dim fileData As String
Dim InStream As TextStream
Dim lines() As String

'remainder of code
Private Sub Form_Load()

'set InStream to hold the text coming from textfile.txt
Set InStream = FSys.OpenTextFile("C:\windows\textfile.txt")

'store all the data from textfile.txt to the variable fileData
fileData = InStream.ReadAll

'split the data from the textfile into lines (a line break is indicated by vbCrLf
lines = Split(fileData, vbCrLf)

'now each line that was previously in the textfile has been
'stored in the array [lines(0), lines(1), lines(2), ... etc.]

End Sub

Both ways should work equally well, but the way I've described is the newer way. I think it's easier - personal preference I suppose

[HeSaidJoe]

kedaman:
Qwestions Payback: LOL

wandoprog

How do I do this?
What is happening?
Why?

the split breaks the file an each VBCrlf.

[kedaman]

oh ouch! Sam, why do i have to learn FSO when i can do everything i need with VB? Might want to place a file control on the form instead which you can use Or why not implementing a loadtext method in every textbox label and anything so that you don't need to handle files in vb?

I know some ppl like a object oriented interface, but beginners might not. wandoprog, what do you mean by prepare the textfile?

[wandoprog]

when i say "prepare the text file" i mean how do you type in the information so that vb can open it, and use it.

would you do it like this...

"question1" , "Answer1"
"question2" , "Answer2"

i know that doesn't work, but how do you do it? thanks
Drew

[HeSaidJoe]

as for FileSystemObject, you are adding controls and
dll to your project. Vb adds enough on it's own without
add further undue garbage.

If using the split method you could use 2 files

QuestionFile:
How do I do this? 
What is happening? 
Why? 

AnswerFile:
I don't know.
Not too much.
Anyone's guess as to why.

use the code above on both. 
You now have 2 arrays of equal measure.

  ArrayOne              ArrayTwo
myQuestionOne(1)  =     myAnswer(1)

[samdv]

Kedaman: every man to his own, I guess. I like FSO, and I'm not too keen on that Open file For Whatever As #1. Personal preference. I get your point though, and to be fair I think it'd be worth learning both methods and using them accordingly, depending on which one suited me best at the time.

Another method of opening.

Open "MyFile" For Input As #1
MyStr = Input(LOF(1), 1)
Close #1

Here is how you can retrieve the data in the text file in the form of Question,Answer and stroe them in an Array respectivly.

Add the following to a Form with 2 CommandButtons.

Private Question(5) As String
Private Answer(5) As String

Private Sub Command1_Click()

    Dim tmp As String
    Dim Var As Variant
    Dim iCount As Integer
    
    Open "C:\Windows\Desktop\MyFile.txt" For Input As #1
    Do Until EOF(1)
        DoEvents
        Line Input #1, tmp
        iCount = iCount + 1
        Var = Split(tmp, ",")
        Question(iCount) = Var(0)
        Answer(iCount) = Var(1)
    Loop
    
End Sub

Private Sub Command2_Click()
    'Display the Questions ans Answers
    For I = 0 To 5
        Print Question(I)
        Print Answer(I)
        Print ""
    Next I
End Sub

[kedaman]

Don't use Input function to read the whole file, it's much faster to read it in binary, and it's also faster to split than read the file in input.

[wandoprog]

convert something to binary? Thanks
drew

[kedaman]

You don't need to worry about how your data is stored, just in what order it is, when you open binary files. Just use the code i gave you, it will split all the qwestions separated by carriage return line feeds, into Qwestions array.