VB fun (?)

[stephbg]

A geeky day today

Today I started to learn how to call a Xemplet via a COM interface, initially from a VBA script inside an Excel spreadsheet. I've learned practical things about VB resources, classes and basic script structure. I've written scripts before, include VBA ones, but it's been a while. I tend to learn languages for a single project then never use them again. Anyone need a Hypertalk programmer? Apple Guide scripting?

Given that my source material was several incomplete and mostly obsolete examples of a new work in development, and that I've had to deal with meaningless variable names I think I've done OK. "Foo" and "bar" are fine, "bum" I can usually spot as a variable, ditto "fred" "kilroy" "x" etc, but "ct"? "xm"? Guys, have pity on the novice who's forgotten how to tell a class from a property for the time being!

All of the above will let me create a VB script to read and package data as a document; send that document to a Xemplet running as a service, receive the results and write them back to the spreadsheet. I can also just call any model to run independently (i.e. the model itself does the reading and writing of data with no parameters passed).

I thought it was time to stop for the day when I started to read "variant" as "deviant" and "dim" as "stupid".

Tonight off to an ACS presentation on MS Server 2008. (post) Pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention spent on human failings. Some geek-friendly command-line only very skinny server software only needing about 150MB RAM - good for recycling old PCs.

Lesson for today: It's still much much (much!) nicer to program in the XempleX graphical modelling language than script the same thing with VBA. Not a breakthrough, but nice to have confirmed.

Home from ACS now, very tired. Mobbed by all three cats at once. Cold weather makes them velcro-esque.

Comments

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

I am so glad to have largely avoided the world of hideous VBA. It all seems such a strange roundabout unpleasant way of doing things that should be so much easier. And even if there are good reasons for it, I'm still pleased I have no idea what Xemplet is or why I would wish to link one.

Ah, I remember HyperTalk. And Lingo, from the same project. *shudder*

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

"Strange, roundabout and unpleasant" is a very accurate description of VBA IMHO.

Don't knock Xemplets 'til you've tried them. By far the nicest way to create services :-)

[stephbg.livejournal.com]

I've a new one for VBA: nasty, brutish and long