Object References

[hoseinbf]

Hello every body
I have defined a class in VB. Its name is "Gens" with one property "property Fit as double"
now I have:

dim a,b as new gens
a.fit=25
b=a
a.fit=30
msgbox (b.fit)

The problem is that the answer is 30. Even there is no "b=a" after changing "a" but b changes by changing "a" and they are dynamically linked together how I can break this link between a and b?

THANX A LOT

[Rabbit]

You need to create a new instance of the class and assign it to one of your varibles. But I don't understand the purpose of this at all. Why link them in the first place.

[Frinavale]

If you want to store different values in both variables, you should declare new instances of the Gens class for each variable.

Like this:

Dim a As New Gens
Dim b As New Gens
 
b.fit=25
a.fit=30
MessageBox.Show(a.fit)
MessageBox.Show(b.fit)

The above code will show 30 in the first message box and 25 in the second message box.


Now, I'm not sure what you are expecting to happen when you are setting b = a.

Say you have instantiate a but not b.

Then you set b = a.

Like this:

Dim a As New Gens
Dim b As Gens
 
a.fit = 30
b = a
MessageBox.Show(b.fit)

Both variables a and b are going to reference the same Object in memory.

Therefore if you change the property fit in one object, it will also change for another object.

For example, if you had:

Dim a As New Gens
Dim b As Gens
 
a.fit = 30
b = a
b.fit = 25
 
MessageBox.Show(a.fit)
MessageBox.Show(b.fit)

You would see two message boxes and they would both be displaying 25 because both variables reference the same Object in memory.

Now, you will SHOULD get a null reference error if you do this:

Dim a As New Gens
Dim b As Gens
 
b.fit = 25
a.fit = 30
 
b = a
MessageBox.Show(b.fit)

Because b has not been instantiated at the point in the logic where it is being used.

-Frinny

[hoseinbf]

Thank you for your reply
simply let say I want to find the maximum of a function.
here is my sample code:

public class gen()
    property len as double
    property area as double
end class
 
public sub main()
    dim a,b as gen
    a=new gen
    b=new gen
    b.area=-1
    for i as integer=1 to 10
        a.len=random.nextdouble  ' just a random number
        a.area=a.len * a.len
        if a.area>b.area then
            b=new gen
            b=a
        end if
    next
    msgbox ("maximum random Area was=" & b.area)
end sub

Okay, this code do not return maximum value of 'area'. each time that I change 'a', other variable also changes. it seems that in this case, a and b are one variable with different names.
what modifications I should do?
Thanks a lot

[Frinavale]

I do not think that you understand pointers.

I know that it is a c++/c# term, but it is a very important concept to comprehend.

Whenever you declare a variable for a class, that variable Points to a location in memory where the class's data begins (well, kind of but we'll keep it simple).

If you set ObjectVariableA = ObjectVariableB you are are changing ObjectVariableA's pointer to point to the memory location that ObjectVariableB is pointing to.

Pointers do not apply to primitive variable types like Decimal, or String. If you set DecimalA=5 and DecimalB=10 and then you set DecimalA=DecimalB....and then you change one, the other will not change.

You really should check out this MSDN article about Value Types and Reference Types


So, the following code will set the variable largestAreaGen to point to the gen Object instance that contains the largest area.

It will then print the area property of the gen instance that the largestAreaGen variable points to.

Public Sub main()
    Dim allGens As New List(Of Gen)
    Dim fixedRand As New Random(CInt(Date.Now.Ticks And &h0000FFFF))
    For i As Integer=1 to 10
        Dim g As New Gen
        g.len = fixedRand.NextDouble()' just a random number
        g.area = g.len * g.len
        allGens.Add(g)
    Next
 
    Dim largestAreaGen As New Gen
    largestAreaGen.area = -1
 
    For Each a As Gen In allGens
        If a.area > largestAreaGen.area Then
         largestAreaGen = a
        End If
    Next
    MessageBox.Show("maximum random Area was=" & largestAreaGen.area)
End Sub

-Frinny

[hoseinbf]

THank you Frinny
this is good but in my real code, I am looking inside a very large set of data. (for example between millions instead of '10' in the above code) and I really don't need to keep all of them in a list. each time I want to compare new element with the best existing element and if new element is not desirable I will just forget it.

on the other hand, when I use the same code as yours:

dim b as new list (of gen)
 

it returns following error message:
Type 'list' is not defined.
(Visual basic 2010 express)

Thanks a lot

[Frinavale]

This same concept applies to large sets of data.

In the example I needed a container for my data and it just so happens to be a List that is 10 objects large.

If your data is not stored in Objects, then you may not even have cause for concern with the pointers that you are describing.

There are a Lot of ways to find the largest thing in a list.

You could use the Enumerable.Max method (Linq)

You could use the List(T).Sort method

If your data is in a DataTable, you could just do a Select right on the table data to retrieve the largest thing...


It all depends on what you are comfortable with and how your data is stored.

-Frinny

[Frinavale]

Wait a sec, List is not defined?
What .NET framework are you targeting?

Visual Studio 2010 should be targeting the .Net Framework 4.0....

Lists are in that Framework.

The List(T) class is part of the System.Collections.Generic namespace.

Make sure to include it in your project and in your file.

-Frinny

[hoseinbf]

Dear Frinny
the links was very nice and helpful.
than you so much

[hoseinbf]

Thanks again. the problem of 'List' is now solved.