QB.EXE/QBX.EXE "Identifier Too Long" Using User-Defined TYPE (59429)

SYMPTOMS

Inside the QuickBasic environment (QB.EXE or QBX.EXE), an "Identifier Too Long" error is incorrectly generated under the following circumstances:

Create a user-defined TYPE (record). Give it one field with a long name (20 to 40 characters).
DIMension a variable of that TYPE. Give the variable a long name (20 to 40 characters).
Use the variable in some statement in the program and run the program.
If the length of the entire identifier (record name plus the field name) is longer than forty characters, an "Identifier Too Long" error message is generated in the environment.

This error occurs in QB.EXE and QBX.EXE, but does NOT occur with BC.EXE.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the QB.EXE environment of Microsoft QuickBasic versions 4.00, 4.00b, and 4.50 (buglist4.00, buglist4.00b, buglist4.50); in the QB.EXE environment of Microsoft Basic Compiler versions 6.00 and 6.00b; and in QuickBasic Extended (QBX.EXE), the extended environment provided with Microsoft Basic Professional Development System (PDS) versions 7.00 and 7.10. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

When using TYPEd variables, both parts of the variable, the variable's name and its field name, are supposed to have a limit of 40 characters. This means that the total possible length of a TYPEd variable when used in a statement is 80 characters.

This problem can be worked around by either shortening the name of the variable, shortening the name of the field in the TYPE, or by placing the single variable into an array of that TYPE.

Code Example

TYPE temp
  '012345678901234567890123456789; Forty characters is a legal name:
   thisisatesttoobutthisistoolong AS INTEGER
END TYPE

DIM thisisatest AS temp

' The following causes an "identifier too long" error
' when the entire name exceeds forty characters.
'012345678901234567890123456789012345678901
 thisisatest.thisisatesttoobutthisistoolong = 10

DIM thisisatest(1) AS temp

'If you make "thisisatest" an array instead of a single type
'variable the problem is eliminated.
thisisatest(1).thisisatesttoobutthisistoolong = 10