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DarkBASIC Professional Discussion / Updating TYPE'd variables in functions

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bodmcn
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Posted: 19th Oct 2010 12:07
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I am trying to create a function to deal with a TYPE'd variable.

It appears that functions in DB Pro only pass by value, you cannot get a pointer to a user-defined TYPE and you cannot return a user-defined TYPE.

How are generic functions meant to be written if the contents of a TYPE cannot, in any way, be updated by the functionality within the function?
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Van B
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Posted: 19th Oct 2010 13:35
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You would have to use globalised typed variables, or pass a reference to a typed array, like passing the ID of the array and updating the typed values inside the function.

Would be great if we could use types explicitly in functions, but there is no technique for that, although I might be wrong, maybe someone wrote a plugin to add extra types support. I often keep a global variable for each type, for use as a buffer, or for returning values set inside the function.

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bodmcn
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Posted: 20th Oct 2010 09:04
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It is most frustrating that the basic concepts of a language are not available. Utilising a global variable entails that the function cannot be generic; ie. you have a function dealing with manipulating an enemy sprite, by using globals within the function is cannot be generic...

Following on from the suggestion of an array with the position within that array passed in as the parameter; does this entail that there is any way of dynamically allocating the size of an array?
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Neco
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Posted: 20th Oct 2010 17:43 Edited at: 20th Oct 2010 17:44
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You can DIM an array as empty



And you can dynamically insert objects into the array



This should be covered in the help files (Help->Principals->Lists, Stacks, Queues) So you can insert and remove items in various ways.

A standard list, or a Stack (FILO) or Queue (FIFO)

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bodmcn
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Posted: 21st Oct 2010 05:37
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Many thanks

I missed that section, d'oh. Good to know

I have changed the code over to global arrays with the positional value passed in as parameters. Many thanks for you suggestion.
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Neuro Fuzzy
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Posted: 21st Oct 2010 11:32
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I usually do something like this:



or,


that is, where callFunction() has a syntax exactly like the 3dmaths vector/matrix commands.

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