Sorting Viewer

[ben2ong2]

NOTE: I found some software that makes development a lot faster and improves windows in general: Firefox with Google Toolbar

To resurrect or not to resurrect - that is the question. The fact is that in the post oopcalyptic era of data and view objects we need only command "go sort yourself" and viola - the miracle manifests. Worse these objects know when to sort as you enter a new person, place, thing, or idea - further obviating the need to program.
Little beknownst to the modern day assembler of packaged components is that somewhere buried deep in the recesses of these objects are the well chosen instructions to order and index data. Indeed these routines have been selected from a number of possible sorting methods to do the job in the most efficient and speedy way possible. They have all been developed and thoroughly tested in those wonderful days BW (before windows).

Why then beat a perfectly dead horse, you say? Well aside from the joy of programming, perhaps you will find an occasion when the objects won't serve your purpose and you must scramble to consult the search oracle for these ancient methods. Chances are you will find them written in a cryptic linear C derivative like JAVA or perhaps FORTRAN or PASCAL, and wonder to yourself if those same sort routines will actually work in BASIC.

Perhaps you have already done a rather exhaustive search for these routines but are still perplexed as to what a shell is, or why a certain sort is labeled quick. Or maybe you wonder what a bubble looks like up close and personal. Further, you may want to know which method is best suited to your application. This visual representation of what is going on behind the scenes should get you started on that path.

In the meantime, there may be more to learn than just general sorting theory. Creating a viewing interface while you are programming certainly aids and enhances the very routines that you are trying to code. Such was the case here while I was writing these sort routines. It is for this reason that I value the Visual® programming products, and believe that they provide more than just facility for the programmer ... They provide vision.
Note in keeping with the theme of a learning tutorial, I have used only the basic controls. Hopefully the viewer will work with all versions of VB 5.0 and 6.0.