Introduction
This is a simple structure which stores up to 32 booleans in a 32-bit integer. It is useful for combining many boolean settings into one, two, or four bytes, ready to be saved in a file. Each flag/bit can be accessed using a method or an indexer.
Background
When I create applications with configuration files, I frequently like to keep boolean settings in just one byte or more. I created this structure to allow me to set which bits were on or off, and return a byte/short/integer to save in my configuration file.
Using the code
Flags or bits can be accessed using the set or get methods, or by using the indexer property.
FlagGroup myFlags = new FlagGroup();
myFlags.SetFlag(12, true);
myFlags[12] = true;
bool f = myFlags.GetFlag(12);
f = myFlags[12];
There are three properties which allow you to get or set the first byte, or the first two bytes, or all four bytes.
myFlags.Int32 = 0xFFFFFFFF;
myFlags.Int16 = 0xAA;
myFlags.Int8 = 0;
The ToString()
method will return a string containing a binary representation of the flag group.
Implementing the structure
In the demo archive, you will find a DLL of the FlagGroup
class in the namespace Ted
. This should be added as a reference to your own projects. However, since there is very little code, you might prefer to add the code file to the project, which you will find in the source archive.
If you have any other questions or comments, then please feel free to contact me.
Ted John started programming at an early age using Visual Basic and HTML. As he gained more experience, he starting writing utilities for his favourite video games.
In his spare time he currently writes program for fun in mostly VB.NET, C# and C++. He also runs a website in PHP and a wiki.
He also enjoys playing strategy games such as popular Tycoon games and Populous: The Beginning (his favourite game).