Link to home
Start Free TrialLog in
Avatar of jamesbcox1980
jamesbcox1980

asked on

VBScript Anonymous Associative Arrays? (like in Javascript)

In Javascript, I can use a key-value association (associative arrays) as an argument in a function to make creating HTML tags easier.  For example,

function img(attr) {
    var prop, imgTag = document.createElement('img');
    for (prop in attr) {
        imgTag.setAttribute(prop, attr[prop]);
    }
    return imgTag;
}

Open in new window


And I can call it like this:
myElem.appendChild(img({
    src : "/images/img.jpg",
    alt : "Some alt text",
    class : "borderImage"
});

Open in new window


This way, I don't need to name each attribute of an image tag as an argument in the function. This is an oversimplified version of what I'm trying to do, and in fact it has nothing to do with HTML, but it's how I learned it in JS.

Is there a way to do something similar in VBScript?  I can create an associative array in VBScript like this:

Dim myArray
myArray("property1") = "value1"
myArray("property2") = "value2"
myArray("property3") = "value3"

Open in new window


But I don't know how to create an anonymous associative array like in Javascript. I need to be able to immediately plug it in as an argument in a function, without building a named array.  Any ideas?
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of Patrick Matthews
Patrick Matthews
Flag of United States of America image

Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
Avatar of jamesbcox1980
jamesbcox1980

ASKER

I've seen the Dictionary before, but I'm not sure how this will help me.  Remember, my purpose here is for simplicity in formatting my code.  Using a dictionary, I'll still have to add each item to the dictionary individually, won't I?
Yes, you would.

Like I said, it's the closest equivalent to an associative array in VBScript.  I did not say it was an exact match :)

Perhaps if you tried describing what you are actually doing I or another Expert can be more helpful.
SOLUTION
Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
Thanks a bunch.  See my half of the solution with the Scripting Dictionary in use.