OpenSTAAD V8i

1.4 Function List Organization

The list of functions is formatted in the following way:

• The name of each function appears in large, bold typeface at the top of the page. 
• A general description follows which contains the purpose of the function, and provides general comments, constraints, and recommendations for using it.

• The Visual Basic (VB) syntax for the function appears next in bold typeface.  All function syntax definitions consist of the function name and then the comma separated parameters, e.g.,

  functionname param1, param2, … , paramn

  The function and all its parameters are usually written on a single line, but for long lines of code, a line continuation character may be used to make the code easier to read.  In VB, the line continuation character is a space followed by an underscore (   _ ).

• Following the function syntax definition is a description of each parameter required by the function.  Note that the names of the parameters are just example names.  If the parameter is a variable name for storing results returned by the function, or if you are passing a parameter required by the function as a variable, you can give it any legal variable name.
• If the function directly returns a value (often a boolean value indicating if the function was successful or not), a section on interpreting the return value is included.
• Then an example of the function is provided.  In some cases, the example is just a short code snippet; in other cases a fully viable macro or program is given. All code provided will be able to work within the STAAD macro editor or an external VBA editor (e.g., Microsoft Office® Excel®).
• Finally, a list of related functions are listed, where applicable.