Solved: Set Variables to Nothing

[mdmackillop]

Hi Gerry,
Welcome to the Excel forum.
Nice point about long/string. Sometimes the obvious is hard to see!
Regards
Malcolm

[MOS MASTER]

4. Not be pedandic about contributors setting variables to Nothing in KB entries.

Hi Malcom,

I do hope you reconsider that part. Cause clearing Objects explicitly with the keyword Nothing is still considerd good programming practise. And we do try to spread that kind of gospel with our knowledgebase...

We have talked about this subject before in the approvers forum but I can't find the thread al that easily but IMO we agreed on checking for correct closing and clearing of object references. (amongst things) A lot of KB's are checked on that issue.

Of course the decesion is up to you.

5. Sleep happy with the thought that if I forgot to release a variable, then the VBA gods will have taken pity on the little creature and done it for me.
Thanks to all.

Amen to that brother!

[MOS MASTER]

YOU BLOODY WELL CAN'T!

Please STOP Gerry you're killing ME!

Hi Gerry,
Welcome to the Excel forum.

Priceless...

[Bob Phillips]

We have talked about this subject before in the approvers forum but I can't find the thread al that easily but IMO we agreed on checking for correct closing and clearing of object references. (amongst things) A lot of KB's are checked on that issue.

One reason I don't do KBs, I got fed up of getting them returned for insignificant matters, and being forced to use Americanisms.

[fumei]

Killing you? Well I certainly don't want that.

[Bob Phillips]

As for those who bring in the question, why don't you reset Long, String etc variables?

Excuse me people....but have you actually even tried?????? There is a damn good reason why we don't reset Long, String etc variables...

YOU BLOODY WELL CAN'T!

That was a typo on my part, I meant strings and arrays, so used to writing strings and longs I was in auto.

And you BLOODY WELL CAN clear strings, as the larger they are, the more memory they take. Ditto arrays.

So...yeah...there is a reason we don't set Long, String to Nothing. They are NOT objects, and you can't set them to nothing.

The only one to mention setting a string to nothing so far is you!

So. The questions really is. Does VBA actually clean up OBJECT variables the same way it cleans up NON-OBJECT variables?

Who the hell knows? I sure don't.

But do you know it doesn't? Don't bother answering that, you might rant on about modules not being strings.

The argument about HEY! why not reset Long, Strings etc is moot. Toss it. I am surprised Matt Curland used it, as it is totally a bogus red herring.

He didn't re Longs, as I said above it was my typo.

[MOS MASTER]

One reason I don't do KBs, I got fed up of getting them returned for insignificant matters, and being forced to use Americanisms.

I'm sorry you feel that way but I can totally relate to what you're saying. (A PITA though we lost you in that way cause you're are a very knowledgable person....)

Perhaps things will change in the future.
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[Bob Phillips]

I'm sorry you feel that way but I can totally relate to what you're saying. (A PITA though we lost you in that way cause you're are a very knowledgable person....)

Perhaps things will change in the future.
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Oddly enough, I hadn't noticed before, but my VBA ranking is greater than that possible for someone with only 3 KBs

[lucas]

So if it works without it why do it. Couldn't the same be said for Option Explicit?

[MOS MASTER]

Oddly enough, I hadn't noticed before, but my VBA ranking is greater than that possible for someone with only 3 KBs

I did notice that before... Wouldn't know why...

[MOS MASTER]

So if it works without it why do it. Couldn't the same be said for Option Explicit?

Steve it's NOT I repeat NOT proven yet that it does always work without it. But I agree it's a mather of preference if you use it.

And No Option Explicit is a totaly different subject and again relates to good programming practices and it helps you in many ways (example: by forcing you to declare your variables) writing your code.

[lucas]

I don't see where anything has been proven here one way or the other......The subject was good programing practice

[MOS MASTER]

I don't see where anything has been proven here one way or the other......The subject was good programing practice

If you mean it in that way the you should use it cause its considered good programming practice.

[Zack Barresse]

So if it works without it why do it.

I think that's the underlying question here. I think that article by Matt Curland was very informative and educational. It will probably change some coding habits of mine and provoke some other testings to be completed.

Couldn't the same be said for Option Explicit?

I agree with Joost, it's not the same.


Thanks for such a thought provoking post MD! And to all those contributing, this truly is a great thread!

[lucas]

I'm just saying that our forum is directed towards folks learning(myself included). So shouldn't we be using top of the line methods as examples. Lots of code posted here without option explicit but when we publish to the kb its a different story. Hopefully this thread will help us sort and define what is good programing practice and we can come to a consensus on the subject.

[Bob Phillips]

I'm just saying that our forum is directed towards folks learning(myself included). So shouldn't we be using top of the line methods as examples. Lots of code posted here without option explicit but when we publish to the kb its a different story. Hopefully this thread will help us sort and define what is good programing practice and we can come to a consensus on the subject.

Steve,

I think I agree with you on the first part. Neither Option Explicit nor setting to Nothing will give a problem ... in 99.9% of the cases (for serious developers).

But I know for a fact that Option Explicit save me making an error of wrongly using a variable that I haven't declared, and therby giving me a logic problem that might be very difficult to track down.

Others are saying that not setting object variables to nothing can also casue problems. Again, not every time perhaps, but again I would imagine that such a problem would be a bugger to track down.

As such, it could be argued that both are good examples of defensive programming. To my mind, that is nothing to do with style, but it is to do with programming practice. I definitely use Option Explicit implicitly, and I tend to also set object variables to Nothing, but not as religiously, because it doesn't hurt, and if it saves a problem down the line, then I am ahead of the game.

[Bob Phillips]

I think that's the underlying question here. I think that article by Matt Curland was very informative and educational. It will probably change some coding habits of mine and provoke some other testings to be completed.

Then you should get hold of his book, it will turn your coding world upside down.

And if you do get it, and you then understand it, perhaps you could explain it to me

[Bob Phillips]

Steve it's NOT I repeat NOT proven yet that it does always work without it.

It never will be, always is infinite. Can only prove the converse.

[MOS MASTER]

As such, it could be argued that both are good examples of defensive programming. To my mind, that is nothing to do with style, but it is to do with programming practice. I definitely use Option Explicit implicitly, and I tend to also set object variables to Nothing, but not as religiously, because it doesn't hurt, and if it saves a problem down the line, then I am ahead of the game.

On this I agree in FULL!

[MOS MASTER]

It never will be, always is infinite. Can only prove the converse.

The holy grail will come to us eventually! (let's hope one of us stumbles up on it soon...)