formlesstree4

One of the most useful formatting abilities that VB.net can offer is "String.Format()" String.Format() allows us to take a group of variables and put them however we want. For example: String.Format("{0} {1}", "Hello", "there!") That was a very..poor example of how to use String.Format(). When this is parsed in VB.net, this is the outcome: "Hello there!" This is especially useful when creating dynamic strings for later usage, such as when you're in a 'loop' (more on loops in another lesson). A perfect example is when someone asks you for a name. Let's say you have a Textbox on the form called "Textbox1", and you wanted to display the name in a greeting. Normally, you'd have to resort to this: Messagebox.show("Hello there " & TextBox1.text & "! How are you today?") That can look rather nasty, but String.Format() allows us to clean that up a little bit: Messagebox.show(String.Format("Hello there '{0}'! How are you today?", TextBox1.Text)) That will display the exact same thing! Why is that though? String.Format() takes a minimum of two arguments: String.Format("This is where the sentence goes with these: {0} - {1}", "This will replace the {0}", "This will replace the 1") The first sentence is the layout of your string. The {0} represents the first variable that will be replaced in the arguments list. Whatever is after the sentence, A.K.A., the 1st Argument, will be used in there. The {1} will be used by the 2nd Argument, and so on. I have yet to see a limit on the String.Format()'s array, so you can have a string that would count up to '{1000}', and I think it'll work...but if you have 1000 variables or so to replace, then you're obviously doing something wrong :D In the next lesson, I will show you how to combine String.Format() and a loop to show every single file in a specified directory! But for now, I have a small homework assignment [for those that actually will care to do them]. Make a simple program that will say hello to a person [Name is taken from a TextBox], and display their age [Also taken from a TextBox].

hey, welcome back. glad to see someone return to the community.

Get on Yahoo! more and maybe I can also tutor you alongside the tutorials.... *glare*

I know I haven't been to active recently, and I'm sorry about that. I'm working on that. I'll contact you soon about Scrive integration. You wouldn't really have to worry about PHP, as Scrive handles all the MySQL queries on it's own. It was one of the first features that I tried to incorporate as to not require some sort of PHP frontend.

Something unique to RMXPU is obviously Scrive. Granted, we need to work on it some more, and possibly we could utilize your own database for Scrive's purposes. It'd be up to you, as it would alleviate Scrive's only weakness of having no central database. Not to mention I'm going to be kicking my teachings into full swing for VB.net.

wat?

I used to watch AOTS religiously...but then I stopped getting G4! D: that was not cool.

O hai there. Welcome back! I made a Pokedex program while you were out...but that's about it for me :P

Kiriashi, update your siggy! You're here right now! And welcome marcaao!

I don't believe it was purely a Disney make. I'm pretty sure Square Soft and Square Enix (Which did #2) played a big role behind it. As a matter of fact, I only see mentions of Disney with respect to their characters, and not involved in the actual gamemaking, but it's been quite some time since I've played/seen the credits/introduction.

Release time! I have two different downloads for you guys: 1. The Format Reader in DLL Format!!! Yay! Get it here Use this DLL in the .NET Framework 2.0 or higher and you can write your own program interface to read the files! 2. The WPF Version of the Program is also ready to go. The WinForms version is being....retarded still, so that one will take some time still. Grab the WPF Version here! As of right now, there is no content available for the program, it still needs to be created, so I'm looking for volunteers to help do this! Please report all bugs you may come across!

Ok, good news. I've actually not only restarted development, I've nearly finished! There will be two versions released: The Windows Form Version, which will have compatibility back to Windows 98 [AKA, .NET Framework 2.0 and up]. The WPF Version [Windows Presentation Foundation], which will only work on Windows XP and newer [AKA, .NET Framework 3.0 and up]. The main differences is in the GUI of the programs. The Windows Form Version [WinForm for short] has a more industrial standard style, while the WPF seems to be easier on the eyes for some people and supports animation of forms or controls. There will be a full feature list later on when I release the program, so keep watching!

He's asking to have the font style of his name changed to whatever the type here on RMXPU is.

Development has stalled a bit because I've needed to migrate over to my Desktop because my laptop VS Installation randomly broke (no clue how). Sorry about any waiting.

Farewell my friend. Come back soon, (you got like 5 hours before your month is up based on my schedule, so abuse them :D)

This is a new Build just for you guys! The program has had a face-lift that may or may not stay (Props to Blackbound for putting it together), and the file format has also changed. Any previous files you may have created are no longer compatible...sorry! LINK REMOVED Read the readme file, it explains some changes that have occurred in the program (such as the new Regions packager ability, or individual readings of files) EDIT: Link removed cause of several rather..stupid bugs.

Mine's dragonkeeper2011@yahoo.com, and I just added ya.

Do you have MSN Tomo? Or AIM/Yahoo/Xfire/Skype? I'm pretty easily reachable, I'd prefer if we talked through that. Edit: Those are nice..I can work with those :) I just need the actual images (the backimage, not the image there)

You're talking about full Hardware Virtualization, while we're just simply talking about compatibility mode which is available on all editions.

Sorry for double posting, but I have some pretty big news about the Pokedex Program. The program now utilizes two file formats (both custom): The .pidf [Pokemon Image Data File], and the .pdfx [Pokedex Region File (doesn't match, but I don't care)]. The .pidf file contains one pokemon only, which can cause for heavy file system problems (400 or so files being manipulated by a program doesn't scream self-sufficiency to me.), so the pdfx file format is multiple pidf files stuck together, and read differently. This means you can package up the pidf files and send em to someone, and they can choose to unpack them, or leave it all inside memory for pretty fast access. The good news for you guys is that I'll be making a dll for the file format, so you can manipulate with it yourself in whatever language you choose. I will be releasing the source of the format as well, so it can be better understood. It took me many days to figure out how to store things properly, so I'm glad I'm able to do it and share the experience with you guys. The advantage to making this a dll is that I can make changes to the format reader without needing to recompile an entire build and package everything. Regardless, I hope someone gets a kick out of using this.

Crimson...you remind me of someone I know, but I'm definitely sure I don't know you because none of my friends are internet people like me.....but anyway. Everyone has good pics here, I should post a few more..but I haven't got any good ones...wait....Facebook...bah it's late..I'll post my Homecoming pic later. Gonna need to scan it in anyway...hellz bellz might even post my junior picture :D

Never met ya, but welcome back!

This one ties very closely with Lesson 3 in how to logically process an item. Basically, a Select Case statement is multiple If-Then-Else (ITE) statements. There are several benefits to using a Select Case: 1. When you have an item with multiple possibilities and want to check all of them. 2. Code cleanliness 3. Readability. 4. Prevents nestled ITE errors. There are more, but it's late and I don't know of anymore right now :) Now, let's say I have an Integer called "x" Dim x As Integer And lets say I plug it into a function, randomNumber() x = randomNumber() Private Function randomNumber() As Integer 'Do random stuff here' End Function Just for simplicities sake, let's say the randomNumber will only generate a number between 1 and 4. You want to do something different at each number. Using ITE's, that can look really nasty: If x = 1 then 'do this ElseIf x = 2 then 'do this ElseIf x = 3 then 'do this ElseIf x = 4 then 'do this End If If you're not careful, typing all those ElseIf's and thens, then back to elseif's, it just looks nasty after a time. What if you have to nestle if statements? The readability is much harder. A Case statement changes all that to this: Select Case x Case 1 'Do stuff Case 2 'Do stuff Case 3 'Do stuff Case 4 'Do stuff Case Else 'Show error End Select You can see how much easier that is to read. The program will do something at the specified line when x matches one of those cases. If you see, I added an extra line: "Case Else". This is if the variable "x" doesn't match any of the other cases (aka, x <> 1, 2, 3, or 4). In any controlled environment, you will probably never need to use the Case Else, but there's always that one time where x may hit 0, or 5, or any other number. The Case Else will handle that entirely, allowing you to take appropriate action and prevent your program from erroring! I talked earlier about nestled ITE's and how they can look nasty. Well, here's an example of one [simple] nestled ITE: If x > 3 If x < 8 Then 'Do this elseIf x <5 Then 'do this End if End If If you look carefully, doing a Select Case actually increases the line count. Select Case x Case x > 3 If x < 8 Then 'Do this ElseIf x < 5 Then 'Do this End If End Select That is a rather poor example, but you can see how using a Select Case is not always the answer. If you have any questions, please let me know!

*cough* move to spam forum *cough* ^_^

No need Tomo. If you download it and press Ctrl + E in the main window, a .PIDF maker opens so you can create the file yourself! I would like to have an online display of the information however. I'll need all the help I can get on creating the content!