Getting variable name from string?

Is there a way to get a variable name from a string? For example, a program that asks the user to input a string for a variable name, then input a number, and finally set a variable with the name of the string passed in first to the number. Would this be possible?

Does the variable in question already exist? If so this is easy. If you want to dynamically allocate named variables, there's a multitude of ways to do this

I was thinking along the lines of inputting the variable name in the program, [declaring it after getting the name, and then assigning a value to it. Hope that's a bit clearer.

I was thinking along the lines of inputting the variable name in the program, [declaring it after getting the name, and then assigning a value to it. Hope that's a bit clearer.

Ah hm, so the variable doesn't exist yet. Therein lies the problem, because there are a myriad ways of doing this depending on what you need. Do you absolutely NEED these to be "real" SB variables or do they just need to be named values?

I would like them to be real variables, but using some sort of named values would probably work. Any way of doing this with the real variables though?

I'm fairly sure you can use PRGEDIT commands and EXEC to perform this kind of metaprogramming.

I'm fairly sure you can use PRGEDIT commands and EXEC to perform this kind of metaprogramming.

Which would be incredibly slower than some other workarounds. Unfortunately, no, you cannot dynamically create "real" variables.

Hmm, yeah I'll just try and find another way to do something like this. Thanks for the suggestions though.

You can use VAR("name") to access existing variables, but it can't create new ones. Ex:

VAR A
VAR("A")=6
VAR("B")=3 'won't work because B doesn't already exist

Wow, that syntax is nowhere in the documentation. I wonder why they would leave something out that useful. I'll look into it a bit more, that is very helpful to know.

Can't you use EVAL to create new variables? Assuming the user doesn't try to create variables that you're using in your program, you can just keep track of the variables created using EVAL to ensure you don't create a new one.

Garbage that doesn't work because LOL eval doesn't exist

DIM VARS$[0]  'Holds all variables we've created
DIM NAME$     'Name for next variable
DIM VALUE

'The actual loop
WHILE TRUE
  INPUT "Variable name:";NAME$
  INPUT "Set value:";VALUE
  IF CONTAINS(VARS$,NAME$) THEN 
    'Variable already exists; use VAR to set.
    VAR(NAME$)=VALUE 
  ELSE
    'Variable doesn't exist, use EVAL to create
    EVAL("DIM "+NAME$+"="+STR$(VALUE))
  ENDIF
WEND

'Helper function to check if array contains item.
DEF CONTAINS(ARRAY$,ITEM$)
  DIM I
  FOR I=0 TO LEN(ARRAY$)-1
    IF ARRAY$[I]==ITEM$ THEN RETURN #TRUE
  NEXT
  RETURN #FALSE 
END

EDIT: EVAL doesn't exist pft

SB doesn't have EVAL and using PRGEDIT, you can only make new variables 3 times, since after USEing or EXECing a slot, you can't access it anymore

SB doesn't have EVAL

Wait, what? Then how do people do all that dynamic crap? Do they write to some slot and then exec the slot? Argh sorry.

SB doesn't have EVAL

Wait, what? Then how do people do all that dynamic crap? Do they write to some slot and then exec the slot? Argh sorry.

What dynamic crap?

SB doesn't have EVAL

Wait, what? Then how do people do all that dynamic crap? Do they write to some slot and then exec the slot? Argh sorry.

What dynamic crap?

Mmm I guess I wasn't thinking, sorry. I thought there were interpreters or something, but I guess we've only seen compilers on SB.

You can absolutely hack your own EVAL using slot stuff. Dynamic code is doable but not that good lol

You can absolutely hack your own EVAL using slot stuff. Dynamic code is doable but not that good lol

But I thought globals were only per-slot?

I believe you can declare variables across program slots using

VAR "(slot):(var name)"

, I may be wrong with the syntax there, but I know that it can be done.I imagine you could easily perform

VAR "0:"+INPUT$

, but for what context you intend to use this in I do not know, because if you're using the declared variable in the same slot, the variable will have to already be in the code.

Hmmm but each time you EXEC a slot, it resets the variables right? So it seems like there's not a good way to dynamically create usable variables in your own slot without a huge hassle.

arrays lol