Text book code is incorrect, little help please

Question

Hi folks,

I'm a networking student and hardware is my forte, but am required to do this VB Programming class and this particular project is just about got me ready to pull my hair out!  I inputted this code verbatem from the text entitled, "Programming w/Microsoft Visual Basic 2008" by Diane Zak have double & triple checked & this is exactly as is printed in the book on pages 471-473.  But it comes up with errors, and then we're supposed to modify this thing so it will accept any word up to 10 letters and only allow letters A-Z to be entered by player 2.  But if the original code doesn't work, makes it pretty hard to modify it & make it work!  If someone could please show me how to fix the original and some suggestions as to how to make the required modifications I'd be very, very grateful!!  Thanks in advance for the help.

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On
Option Infer Off



Public Class frmMain

    Private Sub mnuFileExit_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileExit.Click
        Me.Close()

    End Sub

    Private Sub mnuFileNew_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileNew.Click
        'simulates the Hangman Game

        Dim strWord As String
        Dim strLetter As String
        Dim blnValidWord As Boolean
        Dim blnDashReplaced As Boolean
        Dim blnGameOver As Boolean
        Dim intIncorrect As Integer

        'hide the picture boxes
        picBottom.Visible = False
        picPost.Visible = False
        picTop.Visible = False
        picRope.Visible = False
        picHead.Visible = False
        picBody.Visible = False
        picRightArm.Visible = False
        picLeftArm.Visible = False
        picRightLeg.Visible = False
        picLeftLeg.Visible = False

        'get a 5-letter word from player 1, convert to uppercase
        strWord = InputBox("Enter a 5-letter word:", _
                           "Hangman Game").ToUpper

        'determine whether the word contains 5 letters
        blnValidWord = True     ' assume the word is valid
        If strWord.Length <> 5 Then
            blnValidWord = False
        Else
            Dim intIndex As Integer
            Do While intIndex < 5 AndAlso blnValidWord = True
                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) Like "(!A-Z)" Then
                    blnValidWord = False
                End If
                intIndex = intIndex + 1
            Loop
        End If

        'if the word is not valid, display a message

        If blnValidWord = False Then
            MessageBox.Show("5 letters are required.", _
                            "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                            MessageBoxIcon.Information)

        Else
            'display five dashes in lblWord and clear lblIncorrect
            lblWord.Text = "-----"
            lblIncorrect.Text = String.Empty

            'get a letter from player 2, convert to uppercase
            strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                 "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper
        End If

        ' verify that player 2 entered a letter
        ' and that the game is not over
        Do While strLetter <> String.Empty _
            AndAlso blnGameOver = False

            'search the word for the letter
            For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 4
                'if the letter appears int the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord and
                'indicate that a replacement was made

                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) = strLetter Then
                    Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex = 1) = strLetter
                    blnDashReplaced = True
                End If
            Next intIndex

            'determine whether a dash was replaced

            If blnDashReplaced Then
                'if the word does not contain any dashes,
                'the game is over because, player 2
                'guessed the word; otherwise, reset the
                'blnDashReplaced variable for the next search

                If lblWord.Text.Contains("-") = False Then
                    blnGameOver = True
                    MessageBox.Show("Great guessing", _
                                    "Game Over", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                    MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                Else
                    blnDashReplaced = False
                End If

            Else    'processed when no dash was replaced
                'display the incorrect letter, then update
                'the intIncorrect variable, then show
                'the approriate picture box
                lblIncorrect.Text = _lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter
                intIncorrect = intIncorrect + 1


                Select Case intIncorrect
                    Case 1
                        picBottom.Visible = True
                    Case 2
                        picPost.Visible = True
                    Case 3
                        picTop.Visible = True
                    Case 4
                        picRope.Visible = True
                    Case 5
                        picHead.Visible = True
                    Case 6
                        picBody.Visible = True
                    Case 7
                        picRightArm.Visible = True
                    Case 8
                        picLeftArm.Visible = True
                    Case 9
                        picRightLeg.Visible = True
                    Case 10
                        picLeftLeg.Visible = True
                        blnGameOver = True
                        MessageBox.Show("Sorry, the word is" _
                                        & strWord & ".", "Game Over", _
                                        MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                        MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                End Select

            End If

    ' determine whether to get another letter

        If blnGameOver = False Then
            strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                 "Letter", " ", 820, 590).ToUpper

        End If

        Loop

    End Sub
End Class

Answer 1

You haven't mentioned what the error is, so it's a bit hard to offer advice. I can see that

Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex = 1) = strLetter

Won't compile properly. I presume it shoud be

Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex - 1) = strLetter

But without knowing what the forms designer components need to be, and without the images for all those picture boxes and without knowing what problems you are seeing, there's not much else to offer. The rest of the code looks OK.

Answer 2

Acamar,

Very sorry, I was so burnt on that last night that I forgot to say what the error was, but you hit it right on the button!  Let me give that a try & see if that deals with the issue.  Thanks very much for the reply.

Jim

Answer 3

Back again, tried your suggestion and the app did start & showed no errors, which was a huge improvement over what I'd been able to accomplish after about 5 hrs of tinkering with  the code!   But when I attempted to play the game I came up with the following scenario.  I entered "happy" as the 5 letter word, all worked fine.  Then entered "p" as first letter guess, the app displayed "pp" as being a correct guess & prompted me to choose another letter, but displayed the "pp" as the first two letters in the word.  Next I entered "h" and got this error;

{"Argument 'Start' is not a valid value."}  Referring to the line that I had changed.

System.ArgumentException was unhandled
  Message="Argument 'Start' is not a valid value."
  Source="Microsoft.VisualBasic"
  StackTrace:
       at Microsoft.VisualBasic.CompilerServices.StringType.MidStmtStr(String& sDest, Int32 StartPosition, Int32 MaxInsertLength, String sInsert)    at Hangman_Project.frmMain.mnuFileNew_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Documents and Settings\Jim\My Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\VB2008\Chap08\Hangman Game Solution\Hangman Game Project\Main Form.vb:line 87    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.RaiseEvent(Object key, EventArgs e)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem.OnClick(EventArgs e)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleClick(EventArgs e)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.HandleMouseUp(MouseEventArgs e)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEventInteractive(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripItem.FireEvent(EventArgs e, ToolStripItemEventType met)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mea)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mea)    at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)    at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)    at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStrip.WndProc(Message& m)    at System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown.WndProc(Message& m)    at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)    at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)    at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.DebuggableCallback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)    at System.Windows.Forms.UnsafeNativeMethods.DispatchMessageW(MSG& msg)    at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ComponentManager.System.Windows.Forms.UnsafeNativeMethods.IMsoComponentManager.FPushMessageLoop(Int32 dwComponentID, Int32 reason, Int32 pvLoopData)    at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoopInner(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context)    at System.Windows.Forms.Application.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoop(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context)    at System.Windows.Forms.Application.Run(ApplicationContext context)    at Microsoft.VisualBasic.ApplicationServices.WindowsFormsApplicationBase.OnRun()    at Microsoft.VisualBasic.ApplicationServices.WindowsFormsApplicationBase.DoApplicationModel()    at Microsoft.VisualBasic.ApplicationServices.WindowsFormsApplicationBase.Run(String[] commandLine)    at Hangman_Project.My.MyApplication.Main(String[] Args) in 17d14f5c-a337-4978-8281-53493378c1071.vb:line 81    at System.AppDomain._nExecuteAssembly(Assembly assembly, String[] args)    at System.AppDomain.ExecuteAssembly(String assemblyFile, Evidence assemblySecurity, String[] args)    at Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.HostProc.RunUsersAssembly()    at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)    at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)    at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()
  InnerException: 

Honestly most of this is greek to me, and my instructor provides little instruction.  When I clicked on help for the error in question, I got this window

Troubleshooting Exceptions: System.ArgumentException
Updated: July 2008

An ArgumentException exception is thrown when at least one of the arguments provided to a method does not meet the specifications of the parameters of the method. 

Still pretty confused & needing help.

Thanks,
Jim

Answer 4

I read the book I did not have any problem with it, works fine for me...are you using Vista, XP or 7? did you download the picture files? I advice you to try with error and see what happen..........error resume next

---

Don't judge me, just Upgrade me. Thanks!

Answer 5

I'll point out two related problems...

For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 4

becuase intIndex = 0 during the first loop mid is going to try to use startindex = 0
...but there is no zero index in a lenght property, they always start with 1  



Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex - 1) = strLetter

Because you want to select only one char in the string - the syntax you need to use for mid is: mid(string, startindex, lenght) but you are only providing string and startindex arguments (no lenght argument) because thre is an operator rather than a 'delimiter between intIndex and 1 (so your startindex = (intIndex -1)...whcih is especially bad in the first loop when intIndex = 0 *giggle*). You could fix it this way: mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex, 1)

Answer 6

I'm using win xp pro sp3

Answer 7

Hi jdrew, Acamar,
actually this should probably be <Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) = strLetter> (plus instead of minus) as this is the current iteration's addend. Using "-" instead will trigger a runtime error for the first iteration (attempting to change the letter at position -1).

Cheers,
Olaf

Answer 8

Hi jdrew, Acamar,
actually this should probably be <Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) = strLetter> (plus instead of minus) as this is the current iteration's addend. Using "-" instead will trigger a runtime error for the first iteration (attempting to change the letter at position -1).

Cheers,
Olaf

I hate to do this...but the above comment is not correct.

Mid works like this Mid("string", StartIndex, Lenght)

* The "string" argument lets you specify the string you will work with
* The StartIndex argument is where the work begins. A startIndex of 1 is like putting your curser befor the first char in a string.
* The Lenght argument is how many chars will be selected after StartIndex.

if StartIndex = 1 and Lenght = 1 then you select only the first char.
if StartIndex = 2 and Lenght = 1 then you select only the second char.
if StartIndex = 1 and Lenght = 2 then you select the first two chars.

if the Lenght argument is not specified, all chars after StartIndex are selected.

Here are details on the Mid function: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/05e63829.aspx

Answer 9

Hi Derek,

I hate to do this...but the above comment is not correct.

no problem at all here with correcting me when I went wrong - I'm far from perfect and make mistakes all the time! :-)

Mid works like this Mid("string", StartIndex, Lenght)

* The "string" argument lets you specify the string you will work with
* The StartIndex argument is where the work begins. A startIndex of 1 is like putting your curser befor the first char in a string.
* The Lenght argument is how many chars will be selected after StartIndex.

if StartIndex = 1 and Lenght = 1 then you select only the first char.
if StartIndex = 2 and Lenght = 1 then you select only the second char.
if StartIndex = 1 and Lenght = 2 then you select the first two chars.

if the Lenght argument is not specified, all chars after StartIndex are selected.

Here are details on the Mid function: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/05e63829.aspx

Alright. Mid() is expecting the StartIndex arg to be 1-based (as opposed to 0-based), thus, the loop in the OP's sample (iterating with 0-4) would throw the reported runtime-error due to the fact that the <Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex - 1)> (as suggested by Acamar), would result in a -1 for the first iteration's StartIndex-parameter and 0 for the second, both being invalid. With <Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1)> this will target the first letter for iteration #1 a.s.o.

Hmm. So I read and re-read your post, but I can't really seem to be seeing the difference between what I stated and what you did - help me out, please! :-)

FWIW,

      Dim str As String = "12345"
      MessageBox.Show("Original: " & str & Environment.NewLine & "With Index=2: " & Mid(str, 2))

will give you a "2345" and would give you a runtime-error if it called <Mid(str,0)>.

Cheers,
Olaf

Answer 10

Hmm. So I read and re-read your post, but I can't really seem to be seeing the difference between what I stated and what you did - help me out, please! :-)

Sounds like you understand perfectly Olaf!

Bottom line: Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) will fix the invalid index exception....but will it make the program work as jdrew62 specified?

Answer 11

Hi Derek,

Sounds like you understand perfectly Olaf!

alright, so - out of curiosity - may I ask exactly what was incorrect in my posting ..?

but will it make the program work as jdrew62 specified?

Since the code is from a book, there's a good chance that this was the only typo, but that's up to jdrew62 to test.
Pretty lengthy thread for such a little typo, too! :-)

Cheers,
Olaf

Answer 12

Mistyping '=' for '+' is much more likely than '=' for '-'.

Answer 13

 If blnDashReplaced Then
                    'if the word doesn't contain any dashes,
                    'the game is over because player 2
                    'guessed the word, otherwise, reset the 
                    'blnDashReplaced variable for the next search

                    If lblWord.Text.Contains("-") = False Then
                        blnGameOver = True
                        MessageBox.Show("Great guessing!", _
                                        "Game Over", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                        MessageBoxIcon.Information)

At this spot in this code I  am getting this error message, {" ArguementException was unhandled.}
(Argument 'Start' is not a valid value.)  What does that mean & how can I fix it?  Apparently its bad because if I go ahead & run the app, enter a word & then try to select a word it causes a fatal error and crashes the program.






Also at this point shown below,  I have an error that says:

Error    1    Value of type 'String' cannot be converted to 'System.Windows.Forms.Label'.        158    25    Hangman Game Project

 lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter

Now that one just shows up right away and its just below the other error in the next Else segment.  Got any more magic for me Acamar??  Please a little more help!

Thanks in advance!

Jim

Answer 14

Is the second problem this line:

lblIncorrect.Text = _lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter

If so, it should be :

lblIncorrect.Text = _
               lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter

or, better,

lblIncorrect.Text = lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter

For the first one, can you quote the code that uses "Start", becasue I can't find it in what you have posted.  The message indicates that you have used the variable in some function where the current value of that variable is not valid.  For instance:

lblCorrectText.Text = "Correct Letter = " & " " & Word.Substring(Start,1)

where the current value of Start is -1.  That value is meaningless in a Substring function, and would throw that sort of error.

Answer 15

ok here's the two errors that show up initially

   ' verify that player 2 entered a letter
        ' and that the game is not over
        Do While strLetter <> String.Empty

            If blnGameOver = False Then

                'search the word for the letter
                For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9

                Next
                'if the letter appears int the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord and
                'indicate that a replacement was made
            End If

The problem here it says is "Error    1    Variable 'intIndex' hides a variable in an enclosing block. " and specifically is with the line that says {For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9}


The second error that its showing is with this section

  If strWord.Substring(CInt(intIndex), 1) = strLetter Then
                Mid(lblWord.Text, CInt(CDbl(intIndex) + 1)) = strLetter

                blnDashReplaced = True

            End If
                Next intIndex

            'determine whether a dash was replaced

            If blnDashReplaced Then
                'if the word does not contain any dashes,
                'the game is over because, player 2
                'guessed the word; otherwise, reset the
                'blnDashReplaced variable for the next search

                If lblWord.Text.Contains(" - ") = False Then

Specifically its with this part {Next intIndex}  & it says     "Error    2    'Next' must be preceded by a matching 'For'."


Does that explain it better?       

Here is the complete code as I have it now.  The game should accept up to a 10 letter word.  The other problem I'm seeing when I run debugging on it is that the number of dashes does coincide with the number of letters in the inputted word.

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On
Option Infer Off



Public Class frmMain

    Private Sub mnuFileExit_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileExit.Click
        Me.Close()

    End Sub

    Private Sub mnuFileNew_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileNew.Click
        'simulates the Hangman Game

        Dim strWord As String
        Dim strLetter As String
        Dim blnValidWord As Boolean
        Dim blnDashReplaced As Boolean
        Dim blnGameOver As Boolean
        Dim intIncorrect As Integer
        Dim intIndex As String

        'hide the picture boxes
        picBottom.Visible = False
        picPost.Visible = False
        picTop.Visible = False
        picRope.Visible = False
        picHead.Visible = False
        picBody.Visible = False
        picRightArm.Visible = False
        picLeftArm.Visible = False
        picRightLeg.Visible = False
        picLeftLeg.Visible = False

        'get a 5-letter word from player 1, convert to uppercase
        strWord = InputBox("Enter up to a 10-letter word:", _
                           "Hangman Game").ToUpper

        'determine whether the word contains 5 letters
        blnValidWord = True     ' assume the word is valid


        If blnValidWord = False Then

            MessageBox.Show("10 letters or less are required.", "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Information)

        Else

            'display 5 dashes in lblWord and clear lblIncorrect

            Dim intLen As Integer = strWord.Length

            'lblWord.Text = "-----" '<====================================================================
        End If

        If strWord.Length = 10 Then

            lblWord.Text = "----------"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 9 Then

            lblWord.Text = "---------"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 8 Then

            lblWord.Text = "--------"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 7 Then

            lblWord.Text = "-------"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 6 Then

            lblWord.Text = "------"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 5 Then

            lblWord.Text = "-----"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 4 Then

            lblWord.Text = "----"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 3 Then

            lblWord.Text = "---"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 2 Then

            lblWord.Text = "--"

        ElseIf strWord.Length = 1 Then

            lblWord.Text = "-"

        End If

        'lblWord.Text = ("-")

        'lblWord.Text = CStr(intLen,"-")

        lblIncorrect.Text = String.Empty


        'if the word is not valid, display a message

        If blnValidWord = False Then
            MessageBox.Show("Up to 10 letters are required.", _
                            "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                            MessageBoxIcon.Information)

        Else
            'display five dashes in lblWord and clear lblIncorrect
            lblWord.Text = "-----"
            lblIncorrect.Text = String.Empty

            'get a letter from player 2, convert to uppercase
            strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                 "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper
        End If

        ' verify that player 2 entered a letter
        ' and that the game is not over
        Do While strLetter <> String.Empty

            If blnGameOver = False Then

                'search the word for the letter
                For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9

                Next
                'if the letter appears int the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord and
                'indicate that a replacement was made
            End If

            If strWord.Substring(CInt(intIndex), 1) = strLetter Then
                Mid(lblWord.Text, CInt(CDbl(intIndex) + 1)) = strLetter

                blnDashReplaced = True

            End If
                Next intIndex

            'determine whether a dash was replaced

            If blnDashReplaced Then
                'if the word does not contain any dashes,
                'the game is over because, player 2
                'guessed the word; otherwise, reset the
                'blnDashReplaced variable for the next search

                If lblWord.Text.Contains(" - ") = False Then
                    blnGameOver = True
                    MessageBox.Show("Great guessing", _
                                    "Game Over", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                    MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                Else
                    blnDashReplaced = False
                End If

            Else    'processed when no dash was replaced
                'display the incorrect letter, then update
                'the intIncorrect variable, then show
                'the approriate picture box
                lblIncorrect.Text = _lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter
                intIncorrect = intIncorrect + 1


                Select Case intIncorrect
                    Case 1
                        picBottom.Visible = True
                    Case 2
                        picPost.Visible = True
                    Case 3
                        picTop.Visible = True
                    Case 4
                        picRope.Visible = True
                    Case 5
                        picHead.Visible = True
                    Case 6
                        picBody.Visible = True
                    Case 7
                        picRightArm.Visible = True
                    Case 8
                        picLeftArm.Visible = True
                    Case 9
                        picRightLeg.Visible = True
                    Case 10
                        picLeftLeg.Visible = True
                        blnGameOver = True
                        MessageBox.Show("Sorry, the word is" _
                                        & strWord & ".", "Game Over", _
                                        MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                        MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                End Select

            End If

            ' determine whether to get another letter

            If blnGameOver = False Then
                strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                     "Letter", " ", 820, 590).ToUpper

            End If

        Loop

    End Sub

End Class

Thanks again for all your help, you're a life saver on this for me!

Jim

Answer 16

Hi,

at the top of the mnuFileNew_Click method remove the Dim intIndex As String that will eleminate error 1

change this:

            If blnGameOver = False Then

                'search the word for the letter
                For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9

                Next
                'if the letter appears int the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord and
                'indicate that a replacement was made
            End If

            If strWord.Substring(CInt(intIndex), 1) = strLetter Then
                Mid(lblWord.Text, CInt(CDbl(intIndex) + 1)) = strLetter

                blnDashReplaced = True

            End If
                Next intIndex

to this:

            If blnGameOver = False Then

                'search the word for the letter
                For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9
                   If strWord.Substring(CInt(intIndex), 1) = strLetter Then
                       Mid(lblWord.Text, CInt(CDbl(intIndex) + 1)) = strLetter

                       blnDashReplaced = True

                   End If
                Next
                'if the letter appears int the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord and
                'indicate that a replacement was made
            End If

---

If you have got questions about this, just ask.
Mark the thread as answered if the answer helps you. This helps others who have the same problem !
C# to VB.NET: http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/csharp-to-vb/

Answer 17

Ok I finally have this thing where it shows no errors, until you try to run it and then I have an error with this part here

 If blnValidWord = False Then

            MessageBox.Show("10 letters or less are required.", _
            "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
              MessageBoxIcon.Information)

        Else
            Dim intIndex As Integer
            Do While intIndex <= 10 AndAlso blnValidWord = True

                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) Like "[!A-Z]" Then
                    blnValidWord = False
                End If
                intIndex = intIndex + 1
            Loop
        End If

        'if the word isn't valid, display a message

It's showing up the the line that contains the SubString syntax, I've tried puttin a "+" & a "-" in front of that 1 & I am still getting the same results.  Need someone sharper than me to help figure it out, I'm sure its just a matter of a character or two now.

Thanks to all who have assisted here!

Jim

Answer 18

Did you try changing this line:

    Do While intIndex <= 10 AndAlso blnValidWord = True

To this?

    Do While intIndex < 10 AndAlso blnValidWord = True

As pointed out before (Heslacher and jdrew62 have it correct just above these posts.), indices are zero based, so a string that is 10 characters long has indices 0 - 9.

Answer 19

Hi Jim,

phew, it seems like whoever wrote the book actually did a bad job with the samples, huh?

Even though there probably is some code that checks to assure there isn't more than 10 characters, there might not be anything that assures that the string has a certain length. Also, even though blnValidWord could be set to False at any time, the loop continues through all letters. A simpler (and IMHO more transparent) approach could be:

      If blnValidWord = False Then
         MessageBox.Show("10 letters or less are required.", _
            "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
            MessageBoxIcon.Information)
      Else
         for each c as char in strWord
            if c like "[!A-Z]" then
               blnValidWord = False
               'No need to do further iterations, so exit the for-next loop
               Exit For
            end if
         Next
      End If

'...

Cheers,
Olaf

Answer 20

Thanks Olaf & I agree that is a simpler way of doing that part & I did use it.

But it still hangs up when you try to run the app at this point right here

If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) = strLetter Then


and when I click on the help for it I'm referred to this page
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/wkd6khbd.aspx

I don't know, at this point I'm just going to turn it in as is and move forward, have a new assignment due Monday night that I haven't started on & a test in Linux admin as well to get accomplished this weekend.  Will check back if anyone comes up with a fix.  I do appreciate everybody's help.

I'll go ahead & post the final(as I have it) full code here now.  Thanks again to all for your help!

Jim

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On
Option Infer Off

Public Class frmMain


    Private Sub mnuExit_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
        Me.Close()

    End Sub

    Private Sub mnuFileNew_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileNew.Click
        ' plays hangman game

        Dim strWord As String
        Dim strLetter As String
        Dim blnValidWord As Boolean
        Dim blnDashReplaced As Boolean
        Dim blnGameOver As Boolean
        Dim intIncorrect As Integer

        'hides the picture boxes
        picBottom.Visible = False
        picPost.Visible = False
        picTop.Visible = False
        picRope.Visible = False
        picHead.Visible = False
        picBody.Visible = False
        picRightArm.Visible = False
        picLeftArm.Visible = False
        picLeftLeg.Visible = False
        picRightLeg.Visible = False

        'get a secret word of up to 10-letters from player 1, convert to uppercase
        strWord = InputBox("Enter a word with up to 10 letters:", _
                           "Hangman Game").ToUpper

        'detemine whether the word contains 10 letters maximum

        blnValidWord = True 'assume the word is valid

        'If strWord.Length <> 5 Then '<================================================================

        If strWord.Length > 9 Or strWord.Length < 1 Then

            blnValidWord = False

        Else

            Dim intIndex As Integer

            'Do While intIndex < 5 AndAlso blnValidWord = True '<====================

            Do While intIndex < strWord.Length AndAlso blnValidWord = True

                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) Like "[!A-Z]" Then

                    blnValidWord = False

                End If

                intIndex = intIndex + 1

            Loop

        End If

        'if the word is not valid, display a message
        If blnValidWord = False Then
            MessageBox.Show("10 letters or less are required.", _
               "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
               MessageBoxIcon.Information)
        Else
            For Each c As Char In strWord
                If c Like "[!A-Z]" Then
                    blnValidWord = False
                    'No need to do further iterations, so exit the for-next loop
                    Exit For
                End If
            Next
        End If

   

        'if the word isn't valid, display a message

        If blnValidWord = False Then
            MessageBox.Show("10 letters or less are required.", _
                            "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                            MessageBoxIcon.Information)

        Else
            'disdplay correct number of dashes for word inputted in lblWord
            'and clear lblIncorrect
            Dim intLen As Integer = strWord.Length

            'lblWord.Text = "----------" '<====================================================================



            If strWord.Length = 10 Then

                lblWord.Text = "----------"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 9 Then

                lblWord.Text = "---------"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 8 Then

                lblWord.Text = "--------"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 7 Then

                lblWord.Text = "-------"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 6 Then

                lblWord.Text = "------"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 5 Then

                lblWord.Text = "-----"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 4 Then

                lblWord.Text = "----"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 3 Then

                lblWord.Text = "---"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 2 Then

                lblWord.Text = "--"

            ElseIf strWord.Length = 1 Then

                lblWord.Text = "-"

            End If

            'lblWord.Text = ("-")

            'lblWord.Text = CStr(intLen,"-")

            lblIncorrect.Text = String.Empty
        End If
        'get a letter from player 2, convert to uppercase
        strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                             "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper

        'verify that player 2 entered a letter
        ' and that the game isn't over
        Do While strLetter <> String.Empty _
                        AndAlso blnGameOver = False
            'search the word for the letter
            For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9
                'if the letter appears in the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord &
                'indicate that a replacement was made

                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) = strLetter Then
                    Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) = strLetter
                    blnDashReplaced = True
                End If
            Next intIndex

            'determine if a dash was replaced
            If blnDashReplaced Then
                'if the word doesn't contain any dashes,
                'the game is over because player 2
                'guessed the word; otherwise, reset the
                'blnDashReplaced variable for the next search

                If lblWord.Text.Contains("-") = False Then
                    blnGameOver = True
                    MessageBox.Show("Great guessing!", _
                                     "Game Over", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                    MessageBoxIcon.Information)

                Else
                    blnDashReplaced = False
                End If
            Else 'processed when do dash is replaced
                'display the incorrect letter, then update
                'the intIncorrect variable, then show 
                'the appropriate picture box
                lblIncorrect.Text = _
                    lblIncorrect.Text & " " & strLetter
                intIncorrect = intIncorrect + 1
                Select Case intIncorrect
                    Case 1
                        picBottom.Visible = True
                    Case 2
                        picPost.Visible = True
                    Case 3
                        picTop.Visible = True
                    Case 4
                        picRope.Visible = True
                    Case 5
                        picHead.Visible = True
                    Case 6
                        picBody.Visible = True
                    Case 7
                        picRightArm.Visible = True
                    Case 8
                        picLeftArm.Visible = True
                    Case 9
                        picRightLeg.Visible = True
                    Case 10
                        picLeftLeg.Visible = True
                        blnGameOver = True
                        MessageBox.Show("Sorry, the word is " _
                                        & strWord & ".", "Game Over", _
                                        MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                        MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                End Select

            End If

            'determine whether to get another letter

            If blnGameOver = False Then
                strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                    "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper

            End If

        Loop

    End Sub
End Class

 

Answer 21

Hi,

change this:

            For intIndex As Integer = 0 To 9
                'if the letter appears in the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord &
                'indicate that a replacement was made

                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) = strLetter Then
                    Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) = strLetter
                    blnDashReplaced = True
                End If
            Next intIndex

to this:

            For intIndex As Integer = 0 To strWord.Length -1
                'if the letter appears in the word, then
                'replace the dash in lblWord &
                'indicate that a replacement was made

                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) = strLetter Then
                    Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) = strLetter
                    blnDashReplaced = True
                End If
            Next intIndex

---

If you have got questions about this, just ask.
Mark the thread as answered if the answer helps you. This helps others who have the same problem !
C# to VB.NET: http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/csharp-to-vb/

Answer 22

A very BIG Thank YOU to Heslacher,

For finally figuring this out for me!!!

That was the magic bullet that put this one to bed for me!!


Many thanks to everyone for their help, support, & suggestions!

Jim

Answer 23

I'm working on the same textbook problem, I've got a shorter way to enter to correct dashes:

add a variable & change your case statement to this

  


Dim strWord2 As String ' added 


Else

            'display up to 10 dashes in lblWord and clear lblIncorrect
            strWord2 = strWord
            Mid(strWord2, 1, 10) = "----------"
            lblWord.Text = strWord2
            lblIncorrect.Text = String.Empty

        End If

My question is:

Did you get the second part of the excercise #3 figured out where you have to check player 2 entry to be a letter??? I'm stuck on that part. You need a message box to come up with "letters are req'd" with out adding anything to the error count. this is what I have so foar but can't get it to work correctly.

            



  Dim blnValidLetter As Boolean 'added

 'get a letter from player 2,   convert to uppercase

            strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper

            blnValidLetter = True     'assume the letter is valid
            If strLetter Like "[!A-Z]" Then
                blnValidLetter = False
            End If

            'if the letter is not valid, display a message 

            If blnValidLetter = False Then
                MessageBox.Show("Letters  are  required.", _
                "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                MessageBoxIcon.Information)
            End If

 

Answer 24

Just a follow up, I think I have this correct per textbook now. I think you had a error on you first post, I got the code to work per textbook pages, you need to start on page 464 and go through 468 for first version and check it against pages 471 thru 473.

Here is the full cord what I have for the modified lession C #3 I think it is correct:

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On
Option Infer Off

Public Class frmMain

    Private Sub mnuFileExit_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileExit.Click
        Me.Close()

    End Sub

    Private Sub mnuFileNew_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles mnuFileNew.Click
        ' simulates the Hangman game

        Dim strWord As String
        Dim strLetter As String
        Dim blnValidWord As Boolean
        Dim blnDashReplaced As Boolean
        Dim blnGameOver As Boolean
        Dim intIncorrect As Integer

        Dim blnValidLetter As Boolean
        Dim strWord2 As String ' added to count & change player 1 entry to dashes


        ' hide the picture boxes 
        picBottom.Visible = False
        picPost.Visible = False
        picTop.Visible = False
        picRope.Visible = False
        picHead.Visible = False
        picBody.Visible = False
        picRightArm.Visible = False
        picLeftArm.Visible = False
        picRightLeg.Visible = False
        picLeftLeg.Visible = False


        Do
            ' get a 10-letter word from player 1, convert to uppercase 
            strWord = InputBox("Enter up to a 10-letter word:", _
                                "Hangman Game").ToUpper

            'determine whether the word contains up to 10  letters
            blnValidWord = True     'assume the word is valid
            If strWord.Length < 1 Or strWord.Length > 10 Then
                blnValidWord = False
            Else
                Dim intIndex As Integer
                Do While intIndex < strWord.Length AndAlso blnValidWord = True
                    If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) Like "[!A-Z]" Then
                        blnValidWord = False
                    End If
                    intIndex = intIndex + 1
                Loop
            End If

            'if the word is not valid, display a message 
            If blnValidWord = False Then
                MessageBox.Show("1 to 10  letters  are  required.", _
                                "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                MessageBoxIcon.Information)

            End If
        Loop While blnValidWord = False

        'Else

        'display up to 10 dashes in lblWord and clear lblIncorrect
        strWord2 = strWord
        Mid(strWord2, 1, 10) = "----------"

        lblWord.Text = strWord2
        lblIncorrect.Text = String.Empty

        'get a letter from player 2,   convert to uppercase
        'blnValidLetter = True     'assume the letter is valid
        Do
            strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper

            blnValidLetter = True     'assume the letter is valid
            If strLetter Like "[!A-Z]" Then
                blnValidLetter = False
            End If

            'if the letter is not valid, display a message 
            If blnValidLetter = False Then
                MessageBox.Show("Letters  are  required.", _
                "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                MessageBoxIcon.Information)
            End If
        Loop While blnValidLetter = False

        'Else

        'verify that player 2  entered a letter
        'and that the game is not over
        Do While strLetter <> String.Empty _
                 AndAlso blnGameOver = False

            'search the word for the letter
            For intIndex As Integer = 0 To strWord.Length - 1
                'if the letter appears in the word,   then
                'replace the dash in lblWord and
                'indicate that a replacement was made
                If strWord.Substring(intIndex, 1) = strLetter Then
                    Mid(lblWord.Text, intIndex + 1) = strLetter
                    blnDashReplaced = True
                End If
            Next intIndex

            'determine whether a dash was replaced
            If blnDashReplaced Then
                'if the word does not contain any dashes,
                'the game is over because player 2
                'guessed the word;  otherwise,  reset the
                'blnDashReplaced variable for the next search
                If lblWord.Text.Contains("-") = False Then
                    blnGameOver = True
                    MessageBox.Show("Great guessing!", _
                             "Game Over", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                               MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                Else
                    blnDashReplaced = False
                End If
            Else       'processed when no dash was replaced
                'display the  incorrect  letter,  then update
                'the intlncorrect variable,   then show
                ' the appropriate picture box
                lblIncorrect.Text = _
                lblIncorrect.Text & "" & strLetter
                intIncorrect = intIncorrect + 1
                Select Case intIncorrect
                    Case 1
                        picBottom.Visible = True
                    Case 2
                        picPost.Visible = True
                    Case 3
                        picTop.Visible = True
                    Case 4
                        picRope.Visible = True
                    Case 5
                        picHead.Visible = True
                    Case 6
                        picBody.Visible = True
                    Case 7
                        picRightArm.Visible = True
                    Case 8
                        picLeftArm.Visible = True
                    Case 9
                        picRightLeg.Visible = True
                    Case 10
                        picLeftLeg.Visible = True
                        blnGameOver = True
                        MessageBox.Show("Sorry, the word is " _
                                        & strWord & ".", "Game Over", _
                                        MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                                        MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                End Select
            End If

            ' determine whether to get another letter
            If blnGameOver = False Then
                'get a letter from player 2,   convert to uppercase
                'blnValidLetter = True     'assume the letter is valid
                Do
                    strLetter = InputBox("Enter a letter:", _
                                        "Letter", "", 820, 590).ToUpper

                    blnValidLetter = True     'assume the letter is valid
                    If strLetter Like "[!A-Z]" Then
                        blnValidLetter = False
                    End If

                    'if the letter is not valid, display a message 
                    If blnValidLetter = False Then
                        MessageBox.Show("Letters  are  required.", _
                        "Hangman Game", MessageBoxButtons.OK, _
                        MessageBoxIcon.Information)
                    End If
                Loop While blnValidLetter = False
            End If
        Loop
        'End If

    End Sub

    Private Sub frmMain_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

    End Sub
End Class

There is a loop error on you last posted version
if player 1 enters an incorrect entry it goes to player 2.
I fixed that.
hope this helps