PictureBoxes in an Array - arrays

Question

Okay so I've got two problems with this code:
I have 8 picture boxes, I'm trying to run a check on a randomly generated number, to see if it matches the number at the end of the picture box (IE if the random number = 8, another constant gets put into picture box 8 and no other, but only if there isn't already something in it).
I have done it by simply running out every check as a single if statement but... 180 if statements later... that's too much to code.
I'm trying to (as you can see) run it through several while loops. The main part I'm having trouble with is assigning a particular picture box in the array with an image from the array. I can get an image using the imgName and imgPictures(i) using it in the format PictureBox1.Image = imgPictures(i), but not replacing PictureBox1.Image with picBoxes().Image.
Using the MsgBoxes that I've left in the code, the loops and if statements run "Debug1" and "Debug2" but none of the others... Why is this?
I'll leave the code and see what you guys can make of it.
Dim i As Integer = 1
Dim x As Integer = 1
Dim rndnumber As Integer = mathsclass.get_randomnumber()
Dim imgPictures(20) As Image
Dim picBoxes(8) As PictureBox
picBoxes = New PictureBox() {PictureBox1, PictureBox2, PictureBox3, PictureBox4, PictureBox5, PictureBox6, PictureBox7, PictureBox8}
Dim imgName As String = ("_" & i)
imgPictures(0) = My.Resources.ResourceManager.GetObject(imgName)
picBoxes(x).Image = imgPictures(i)
While (i <= 20)
MsgBox("Debug1")
rndnumber = mathsclass.get_randomnumber()
imgName = ("_" & i)
imgPictures(i) = My.Resources.ResourceManager.GetObject(imgName)
x = 0
While (x < 8)
MsgBox("Debug2")
If ((randomnumber = i) & (randomposition = x)) Then
MsgBox("Debug3")
picBoxes(x).Image = imgPictures(i)
Else
While (rndnumber = randomnumber)
MsgBox("Debug4")
rndnumber = mathsclass.get_randomnumber()
End While
MsgBox("Debug5")
If ((randomnumber <> rndnumber) & (randomposition <> x)) Then
MsgBox("Debug6")
imgName = ("_" & rndnumber)
imgPictures(i) = My.Resources.ResourceManager.GetObject(imgName)
picBoxes(x).Image = imgPictures(i)
End If
MsgBox("Debug7")
End If
MsgBox("Debug8")
x += 1
End While
MsgBox("Debug9")
i += 1
End While

Answer 1

Am not really sure which language you are trying to use here. I mean, whether it is VB.Net or class VB6!
I assume it is VisualBasic.Net (VB.Net).
Am not sure whether I understood you clearly. So, am giving you a small example code for you to try it out. The comments in it would pretty much explain I believe.
First create a new blank project. Add 5 textboxes in it(no need to change the names of it. Just drag and drop 5 nos. of textboxes). Add a Button and then double click on it and paste the code that I have shown below:
Dim rand As New Random '~~~ for creating the random numer
Dim intTotal As Integer = 5 '~~~ I have 5 textboxes with the names ending by number from 1 to 5
Dim intUpdated As Integer = 0 '~~~ to store the total number of updated textboxes
'~~~ first of all we are looping through the textboxes(am just showing how you can fetch them via it's name. There are other ways to iterate through the controls though!)
For i As Integer = 1 To intTotal
Dim tbox As TextBox = DirectCast(Me.Controls.Item("TextBox" & i.ToString()), TextBox) '~~~ here, we are fetching the TextBox via it's "Name" property, by appending the number at the end of "TextBox". Because in my form, I have "TextBox1", "TextBox2", "TextBox3", "TextBox4" and "TextBox5"
tbox.Tag = "untouched" '~~~ just setting it's "Tag" property to some text so that we could later use it evaluate whether we have touched this textbox via the random number
'-------------------------------------------------
'if you want to do something else like loading up default text or something, you can do it here too
'-------------------------------------------------
Next
'~~~ the randomly choosing part..
Dim j As Integer = 1
Do While intUpdated < intTotal '~~~ loop until we have taken into consideration all the textboxes via random number
Dim r As Integer = rand.Next(1, intTotal + 1) '~~~ create a random number between 1 and 5 (both inclusive)
'~~~ fetch that TextBox via it's name. Note that, am appending the random number to the name "TextBox". For eg, if the random number generated was "2", it would access "TextBox2"
Dim tbox As TextBox = DirectCast(Me.Controls.Item("TextBox" & r.ToString()), TextBox)
'~~~ since we have textbox now, we are checking whether we have accessed it earlier via random number
If tbox.Tag.ToString() = "untouched" Then '~~~ if not accessed before...
tbox.Tag = "touched" '~~~ mark the textbox as accessed via random number
intUpdated += 1 '~~~ increment the counter variable that we are using for storing the number of textboxes we accessed
'-------------------------------------------------
'~~~ do whatever you want on it here.. Right now, am just inserting some text on it to show the order in which the textboxes are accessed via our random number
tbox.Text = "updated" & j.ToString
j += 1
'-------------------------------------------------
End If
Loop
After running it, I hope you will be able to get the idea. To access a control name residing in your form, you could access it like this: Me.Controls.Item("control_name_goes_here"). So you can append numbers to the string when you mention the control's name. I have used this in code above. Look at it.
BTW, you are using & which is in VB, will act like concatenation operator! ie, Dim a As String = "Akhilesh" & "B Chandran". This will store Akhilesh B Chandran in that variable a. For AND operation, you need to use AND. In C, C++, C#, etc it is && (note that there is two ampersand characters)
Also, in VB.Net, you should use MessageBox.Show() instead of the MsgBox() function. That's the better way.
Hope this will help.