VBScript Functions

VBScript Functions

Type Checking | Typecasting | Formatting | Math | Date | String | Other

Type Checking Functions These functions will allow you to determine the data subtype of a variable or expression.

	Value	Constant	Data Type
	0	vbEmpty	Empty [This is the type for a variable that has yet to be used, and is the default data type]
	1	vbNull	Null [no valid data]
	2	vbInteger	Integer
	3	vbLong	Long
	4	vbSingle	Single
	5	vbDouble	Double
	6	vbCurrency	Currency
	7	vbDate	Date
	8	vbString	String
	9	vbObject	Object
	10	vbError	Error
	11	vbBoolean	Boolean
	12	vbVariant	Variant [used with vbArray]
	13	vbDataObject	Data Access Object
	14	vbDecimal	Decimal
	17	vbByte	Byte
	8192	vbArray	Array [VBScript uses 8192 as a base for arrays and adds the code for the datatype to indicate an array. 8204 indicates a variant array, which is the only real kind of array in VBScript]
	TypeName(expression) returns a string with the name of the datatype rather than the code.
	IsNumeric(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is numeric, and False otherwise
	IsArray(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is an array, and False otherwise
	IsDate(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is date/time data, and False otherwise
	IsEmpty(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is an empty value (un-initialised variable), and False otherwise
	IsNull(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression contains no valid data, and False otherwise
	IsObject(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is an object, and False otherwise

Typecasting Functions Typecasting allows you to convert between data subtypes.

	Cint(expression) casts expression to an integer. If expression is a floating-point value, it is rounded. If it is a string that looks like a number, it is turned into that number and then rounded if necessary. If it is a Boolean value of True, it becomes -1, False becomes 0. It must also be within the range that an integer can store.
	Cbyte(expression) casts expression to a byte value provided that expression falls between 0 and 255, expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Cdbl(expression) casts expression to a double. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Csng(expression) casts expression to a single. It works like Cdbl() but must fall within the range represented by a single.
	Cbool(expression) casts expression to a Boolean value. If expression is zero, the result is False, otherwise the result is True. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Ccur(expression) casts expression to a Currency value. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Cdate(expression) casts expression to a Date value. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number, or a string of a commonly used date format. DateValue(expression) or TimeValue(expression) can also be used for this.
	Cstr(expression) casts expression to a string. expression can be any kind of data.

Formatting Functions

	FormatDateTime(expression, format) is used to format the date/time data in expression. Format is an optional argument that should be one of the following: vbGeneralDate - Display date , if present, as short date. Display time, if present, as long time. Value is 0. This is the default setting if no format is specified. vbLongDate - Display the date using the server's long date format. Value is 1. vbShortDate - Display the date using the server's short date format. Value is 2. vbLongTime - Display the time using the server's long time format. Value is 3. vbShortTime - Display the time using the server's short time format. Value is 4.
	FormatCurrency(value, numdigits, leadingzero, negparen, delimiter) is used to format the monetary value specified by value. numdigits specifies the number of digits to display after the decimal place. -1 indicates to use the system default. Tristate options have three possible values. If the value is -2, it means use the system default. If it is -1, it means turn on the option. If it is 0, turn off the option. leadingzero is a Tristate option indicating whether to include leading zeroes on values less than 1. negparen is a Tristate option indicating whether to enclose negative values in parentheses. delimiter is a Tristate option indicating whether to use the delimiter specified in the computer's settings to group digits.
	FormatNumber is used to format numerical values. It is almost exactly like FormatCurrency, only it does not display a dollar sign. FormatPercent works the same as the two above, the options being the same except it turns the given value into a percentage.

Math Functions

	Abs(number) returns the absolute value of number.
	Atn(number) returns the arctangent, in radians, of number.
	Cos(number) returns the cosine of number. number should be in radians.
	Exp(number) returns e (approx. 2.71828) raised to the power number.
	Fix(number) returns the integer portion of number. If number is negative, Fix returns the first integer greater than or equal to number.
	Hex(number) converts number from base 10 to a hexadecimal string.
	Int(number) returns the integer portion of number. If number is negative, Int returns the first integer less than or equal to number.
	Log(number) returns the natural logarithm of number.
	Oct(number) converts number from base 10 to an octal string.
	Rnd number returns a random number less than one and greater than or equal to number. If the argument number is less than 0, the same random number is always returned, using number as a seed. If number is greater than 0, or not provided, Rnd generates the next random number in the sequence. If number is 0, Rnd returns the most recently generated number.
	Randomize initialises the random number generator.
	Round(number) returns number rounded to an integer.
	Round(number, dec) returns number rounded to dec decimal places.
	Sgn(number) returns 1 if number is greater than zero, 0 if number equals zero, and -1 if number is less than zero.
	Sin(number) returns the sine of number. number should be in radians.
	Sqr(number) returns the square root of number. number must be positive
	Tan(number) returns the tangent of number. number should be in radians.

Date Functions

	Date returns the current date on the server.
	Time returns the current time on the server.
	Now returns the current date and time on the server.
	Year(date) returns the year portion from date as a number.
	Month(date) returns the month portion from date as a number.
	MonthName(date) returns the month portion from date as a name.
	Day(date) returns the day portion from date as a number.
	Weekday(date) returns the day of the week of date as a number.
	Hour(time) returns the hour portion from time.
	Minute(time) returns the minute portion from time.
	Second(time) returns the second portion from time.
	DateAdd(interval, number, date) is used to add to the date specified by date. interval is a string that represents whether you want to add days, months, years and so on. number indicates the number of intervals you want to add; that is, the number of days, weeks, years etc.
	DateDiff(interval, date1, date2, firstDOW, firstWOY) is used to find the time between two dates. interval is one of the interval values from Table 1. DateDiff returns the number of intervals elapsed between date1 and date2. The optional integer firstDOW specifies what day of the week to treat as the first. Values for this can be found in Table 2. The optional integer firstWOY specifies which week of the year to treat as the first. Values for this can be found in Table 3.
	DateSerial(year, month, day) takes the integers year, month, and day and puts them together into a date value. They may be negative.
	TimeSerial is similar to DateSerial.
	Timer returns the number of seconds elapsed since midnight.
	DatePart(interval, datetime, firstDOW, firstWOY) allows you to retrieve the part of datetime specified by interval. The valid values for interval are listed in Table 1. The optional integer firstDOW specifies what day of the week to treat as first. The optional integer firstWOY specifies which week of the year to treat as first. These values are listed in Table 2 and Table 3.

Table 1: Interval codes for the Date Functions
	Value	Meaning
	"yyyy"	Year
	"q"	Quarter
	"m"	Month
	"y"	Day of year
	"d"	Day
	"w"	Weekday
	"ww"	Week of year
	"h"	Hour
	"n"	Minute
	"s"	Second

Table 2: Day of the Week Constants
	Value	Name	Meaning
	0	vbUseSystem	National Language Support API Setting
	1	vbSunday	Sunday (default)
	2	vbMonday	Monday
	3	vbTuesday	Tuesday
	4	vbWednesday	Wednesday
	5	vbThursday	Thursday
	6	vbFriday	Friday
	7	vbSaturday	Saturday

Table 3: First Week of the Year Constants
	Value	Name	Meaning
	0	vbUseSystem	National Language Support API Setting
	1	vbFirstJan1	Week of January 1
	2	vbFirstFourDays	First week with four days of the new year
	3	vbFirstFullWeek	First full week

String Functions

	UCase(string) returns string with all its lowercase letters converted to uppercase letters.
	LCase(string) returns string with all its uppercase letters converted to lowecase letters.
	LTrim(string) removes all the spaces from the left side of string.
	RTrim(string) removes all the spaces from the right side of string.
	Trim(string) removes spaces from both the left and right of string.
	Space(number) returns a string consisting of number spaces.
	String(number, character) returns a string consisting of character repeated number times.
	Len(string) returns the number of characters in string
	Len(variable) returns the number of bytes required by variable.
	LenB(string) returns the number of bytes required to store string.
	StrReverse(string) returns string with the characters in reverse.
	StrComp(string1, string2, comparetype) is used to perform string comparisons. If comparetype is zero or omitted, the two strings are compared as if uppercase letters come before lowercase letters. If comparetype is one, the two strings are compared as if upper- and lowercase letters are the same. StrComp returns -1 if string1 is less than string2. It returns 0 if they are the same, and 1 if string1 is greater than string2.
	Right(string, number) returns the number rightmost characters of string.
	RightB(string, number) works like Right but number is taken to be the number of bytes rather than characters.
	Left(string, number) returns the number leftmost characters of string.
	LeftB(string, number) works like Left but number is taken to be the number of bytes rather than characters.
	Mid(string, start, length) returns length characters from string, starting at position start. When length is greater than the number of characters left in the string, the rest of the string is returned. If length is not specified, the rest of the string starting at the specified starting position is returned.
	MidB(string, start, length) works like Mid, but start and length are both taken to be byte numbers rather than character numbers.
	InStr(start, string1, string2, comparetype) is used to check if and where string2 ocurrs within string1. start is an optional argument that specifies where in string1 to start looking for string2. comparetype is an optional argument that specifies which type of comparison to perform. If comparetype is 0, a binary comparison is performed, and uppercase letters are distinct from lowercase letters. If comparetype is 1, a textual comparison is performed, and uppercase and lowercase letters are the same. InStr returns 0 if string1 is empty (" "), if string2 is not found in string1, or if start is greater than the length of string2. It returns Null if either string is Null. It returns start if string2 is empty. If string2 is successfully found in string1, it returns the starting position where it is first found.
	InStrB works like InStr except that the start position and return value are byte positions, not character positions.
	InStrRev(string1, string2, start, comparetype) starts looking for a match at the right side of the string rather than the left side. start is by default -1, which means to start at the end of the string.
	Replace(string, find, replace, start, count, comparetype) is used to replace ocurrences of find with replace in string. start, count and comparetype are optional, but if you want to use one, you must use the ones that come before it. start indicates where the resulting string will start and where to start searching for find. It defaults to 1. count indicates how many times to perform the replacement. By default, count is -1, which means to replace every ocurrence. If comparetype is 1, a textual comparison is performed, and uppercase and lowercase letters are the same.
	Filter(arrStrings, SearchFor, include, comparetype) searches an array of strings, arrStrings, and returns a subset of the array. include is a Boolean value. if include is True, filter searches through all the strings in arrStrings and returns an array containing the strings that contain SearchFor. If include is False, filter returns an array of the strings that do not contain SearchFor. include is optional and defaults to True. comparetype works the same as in the other string functions. If you want to use comparetype, you must use include.
	Split(expression, delimiter, count, comparetype) takes a string and splits it into an array of strings. expression is the string to split up. If expression is zero length, Split returns an array of no elements. delimiter is a string that indicates what is used to separate the sub-strings in expression. This is optional; by default the delimiter is a space. If delimiter is zero length (" "), an array of one element consisting of the whole string is returned. count is used to specify a maximum number of sub-strings to be created. The default for count is -1, which means no limit. If comparetype is 0, a binary comparison is performed, and uppercase letters are distinct from lowercase letters. If comparetype is 1, a textual comparison is performed, and uppercase and lowercase letters are the same. comparetype is only useful when the delimiter you have chosen is a letter.
	Join(stringarray, delimiter) does just the opposite of Split. It takes an array of strings and joins them into one string, using delimiter to separate them. delimiter is optional; space being the default.

Other Functions

	LBound(array) returns the smallest valid index for array.
	UBound(array) returns the largest valid index for array.
	Asc(string) returns the ANSI character code for the first character of string.
	Chr(integer) returns a string consisting of the character that matches the ANSI character code specified by integer.
	Array(value1, value2, ..., valueN) returns an array containing the specified values. This is an alternative to assigning the values to array elements one at a time.