Overview

VB (Visual Basic) expressions are combinations of operators, constants, variables, and functions that evaluate to a single value at runtime. VB expressions follow a specific syntax and can be used in a variety of contexts, allowing you to perform calculations, compare values, manipulate strings, and interact with data structures.

Using VB expressions comes with the following perks:

• Simplicity, readability, and collaboration - makes your app easier to understand, maintain, and share with other users.

• Efficiency and performance - more efficient than using equivalent logic, VB expressions can be evaluated and resolved more rapidly by the compiler, which translates to an improved performance.

• Code reusability - by encapsulating calculations and operations, expressions can be reused throughout your app.

• Integration with control structures - flexible and seamless usage of conditional statements and loops.

• Mathematical and data manipulation - you can easily perform arithmetic operations, apply mathematical functions, manipulate strings, or access the elements of an array.

In UiPath^®Apps, additionally to the overall perks, you can use VB expressions to create dynamic behaviors within your app:

• Set property values of app elements, such as labels, text boxes, or dropdowns. For example, you can set the text of a label dynamically based on certain conditions or calculations using VB expressions.

• Manipulate data from Data Service entities, and use an advanced query builder to retrieve data.

• Control the visibility or enable/disable status of app elements based on certain conditions. By setting the visibility or enabled property of an element to a VB expression, you can dynamically control its state based on user input or other factors.

• Define validation rules for form fields or input elements. By specifying VB expressions as validation rules, you can validate user input based on certain conditions, such as checking for required fields, validating email addresses, or ensuring data format compliance.

• Define conditional behaviors within your app. You can use expressions in conjunction with If-Then-Else or Switch activities to control the flow of actions or display different content based on specific conditions.

• Enable dynamic content generation within your app. For example, you can use expressions to populate dropdown options dynamically based on data retrieved from an external source or to generate dynamic text based on user input.