Is there a simple way to determine if a string (i.e. "Dim") is a keyword for VB.NET.
I could create a list of keywords, and loop through them, but I was hoping for something more reliable.
Asked
Active
Viewed 253 times
1
-
1Store a list with VB's keywords, then check `If myKeywordList.Contains("Dim")`. [This](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd409611.aspx) is a good place to start. – Ally Mar 15 '17 at 09:36
-
thanks for the tip mate – Sharma Hussein Mar 15 '17 at 09:40
-
@AlexM. : What are the odds that we post pretty much the same answer? ;) – Visual Vincent Mar 15 '17 at 09:42
-
1@VisualVincent who knows, maybe you should calculate the probability of it ;) - Might take you 1*10^100 iterations lol. – Ally Mar 15 '17 at 09:43
1 Answers
3
There is no built-in way to do this, so you have to maintain your own list.
Depending on how you intend to use it, a HashSet(Of T) could be used to provide better performance than a List(Of T) or an array.
Microsoft has got a list of VB.NET's Keywords here.
Visual Vincent
- 18,045
- 5
- 28
- 75
-
I personally think an array would be better for this sort of thing - a constant defined in the class as it would be a fixed array and it wouldn't change, supposed, for what they need. Despite what I mentioned in the comment on the question. – Ally Mar 15 '17 at 09:45
-
1@AlexM. : However the issue with an array or a `List(Of T)` is that to check if an object exists you would have to iterate the list (which `Contains()` does). This causes the operation to be `O(n)`, whereas in a `HashSet(Of T)` you calculate the hash of the object and check if it exists (which has the operation `O(1)`). – Visual Vincent Mar 15 '17 at 09:49
-
-
3@AlexM. : Some interesting posts: [**\[ 1 \]**](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6391738/what-is-the-difference-between-hashsett-and-listt), [**\[ 2 \]**](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/150750/hashset-vs-list-performance), [**\[ 3 \]**](http://stackoverflow.com/a/4558802/3740093). – Visual Vincent Mar 15 '17 at 09:54