Creating a variable name as the value of another variable.

11 Oct 2007 10:39 AM

rdstevenson

Hi,

Something I've never come across before and has given me a headache.
I have a txt file with content similar to below I want to read in each
line do a split on the = and then create a variable with the name of
the first value and the value of the second. I'm fine with the
splitting etc but I haven't got a clue of how to set the variable name
to the value on another variable?

any ideas anyone?

Variable1=Value1
Variable2=Value2
etc etc

11 Oct 2007 10:50 AM

Bob Barrows [MVP]

rdsteven***@hotmail.co.uk wrote:
Show quoteHide quote

> Hi,
>
> Something I've never come across before and has given me a headache.
> I have a txt file with content similar to below I want to read in each
> line do a split on the = and then create a variable with the name of
> the first value and the value of the second. I'm fine with the
> splitting etc but I haven't got a clue of how to set the variable name
> to the value on another variable?
>
> any ideas anyone?
>
>
>
> Variable1=Value1
> Variable2=Value2
> etc etc

Why do you need dynamic variable names? If you could explain the necessity,
perhaps we could suggest an alternative, such as a Dictionary object.

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11 Oct 2007 9:39 PM

jp2code

Your variables have to be declared before you can execute your code. How
would you be able to create a variable named, for example, Variable1 until
the program is executed and you actually encounter it.

You could create an array of 2 element arrays! The first element could
contain the name of Variable1, and the second element could contain the
value.

If this doesn't help, you might want to expand on your question.

Regards,
"Bondo" Joe

<rdsteven***@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
Show quoteHide quote

> Hi,
>
> Something I've never come across before and has given me a headache.
> I have a txt file with content similar to below I want to read in each
> line do a split on the = and then create a variable with the name of
> the first value and the value of the second. I'm fine with the
> splitting etc but I haven't got a clue of how to set the variable name
> to the value on another variable?
>
> any ideas anyone?
>
>
>
> Variable1=Value1
> Variable2=Value2
> etc etc
>

12 Oct 2007 4:43 AM

Mark J. McGinty

"jp2code" <poojo.com/mail> wrote in message
news:uJGir8EDIHA.5024@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Your variables have to be declared before you can execute your code. How
> would you be able to create a variable named, for example, Variable1 until
> the program is executed and you actually encounter it.

Actually, the VBS Execute statement allows you to execute script code,
passed to it in a variable. It is possible to dynamically construct
variable declarations, assignments, functions, etc, and then run the
generated code in the same context as the static part of the script.

That part is easy; coming up with a valid and compelling reason to use this
is the challenge. In the case of dynamically declared variables, what good
are they, unless they're referenced elsewhere in the code (and if that was
the case, they really wouldn't be all that dynamic, would they?

As for the OP, if the .txt file contains legal VBS assignments, why split,
why not just execute the whole file? Otoh, allowing unknown script to be
executed on your server is pretty low on the list of safe and sane things
for your site to facilitate.

In almost all cases there are better design options to be had by using
arrays or a dictionary... in fact, the overwhelming majority of reasons
people think they want to write self-modifying code are really, really lame.
So to the OP, consider all options first; use Execute as a last resort.

-Mark

Show quoteHide quote

> You could create an array of 2 element arrays! The first element could
> contain the name of Variable1, and the second element could contain the
> value.
>
> If this doesn't help, you might want to expand on your question.
>
> Regards,
> "Bondo" Joe
>
> <rdsteven***@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Something I've never come across before and has given me a headache.
>> I have a txt file with content similar to below I want to read in each
>> line do a split on the = and then create a variable with the name of
>> the first value and the value of the second. I'm fine with the
>> splitting etc but I haven't got a clue of how to set the variable name
>> to the value on another variable?
>>
>> any ideas anyone?
>>
>>
>>
>> Variable1=Value1
>> Variable2=Value2
>> etc etc
>>
>
>

12 Oct 2007 10:24 AM

Bob Barrows [MVP]

Mark J. McGinty wrote:

> In almost all cases there are better design options to be had by using
> arrays or a dictionary... in fact, the overwhelming majority of
> reasons people think they want to write self-modifying code are
> really, really lame. So to the OP, consider all options first; use
> Execute as a last resort.
..

.... and [also to the OP] the reason why Execute should be avoided? Because
every use of Execute in your code causes a new instance of the vbscript
compiler to be spawned, impairing performance and utilizing extra server
resources.

--
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13 Oct 2007 1:51 PM

Mark J. McGinty

Show quote Hide quote

"Bob Barrows [MVP]" <reb01501@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
news:OGYN8nLDIHA.5980@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Mark J. McGinty wrote:
>
>> In almost all cases there are better design options to be had by using
>> arrays or a dictionary... in fact, the overwhelming majority of
>> reasons people think they want to write self-modifying code are
>> really, really lame. So to the OP, consider all options first; use
>> Execute as a last resort.
> .
> ... and [also to the OP] the reason why Execute should be avoided? Because
> every use of Execute in your code causes a new instance of the vbscript
> compiler to be spawned, impairing performance and utilizing extra server
> resources.

....spawns a new instance of the vbscript compiler? Ooook... sounds
serious... I wonder if it spawns the vbscript linker too?

I don't suppose you have a link about this? I'd like to read more, but
can't seem to find anything on google.

-Mark

Show quoteHide quote

> --
> Microsoft MVP - ASP/ASP.NET
> Please reply to the newsgroup. This email account is my spam trap so I
> don't check it very often. If you must reply off-line, then remove the
> "NO SPAM"
>

13 Oct 2007 2:51 PM

Bob Barrows [MVP]

Mark J. McGinty wrote:
Show quoteHide quote

> "Bob Barrows [MVP]" <reb01501@NOyahoo.SPAMcom> wrote in message
> news:OGYN8nLDIHA.5980@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Mark J. McGinty wrote:
>>
>>> In almost all cases there are better design options to be had by
>>> using arrays or a dictionary... in fact, the overwhelming majority
>>> of reasons people think they want to write self-modifying code are
>>> really, really lame. So to the OP, consider all options first; use
>>> Execute as a last resort.
>> .
>> ... and [also to the OP] the reason why Execute should be avoided?
>> Because every use of Execute in your code causes a new instance of
>> the vbscript compiler to be spawned, impairing performance and
>> utilizing extra server resources.
>
> ...spawns a new instance of the vbscript compiler? Ooook... sounds
> serious... I wonder if it spawns the vbscript linker too?
>
> I don't suppose you have a link about this? I'd like to read more,
> but can't seem to find anything on google.
>
>

Google for Eric Lippert's "famous" "Eval is Evil" blog entry (Fabulous
Adventures in Coding)

--
Microsoft MVP - ASP/ASP.NET
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don't check it very often. If you must reply off-line, then remove the
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