Summary Ain3701 b0 ls

3.1 INTRODUCTION, OUTCOME AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA In learning unit 1, you learnt to apply computational thinking to business problems. Learning unit 2 covered a more theoretical approach to automation by making use of RPA and robotics. The purpose of learning unit 3 and learning unit 4 is to teach you the skill to build a command that automates a process using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This will involve writing but also evaluating an algorithm by making use of VBA. In AIN2601, you learnt how to use the macro recorder and you also started to write basic VBA code in the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) using the Excel object. This learning unit will build on the knowledge you obtained in AIN2601. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you revise your AIN2601 learning units on these aspects before commencing with this learning unit. It is important to reiterate that VBA can assist you in completing a boring routine task much faster and without any errors. This will enable you to focus more on the exciting stuff in your work environment. But let’s dig in by asking: why programming languages? 3.2 WHY PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES? Figure 3.1: Microsoft Office 365 Stock Images Fac mihi aliquid capulus, quaeso. Do you understand what I am saying? I think most of you do not know what I am instructing you to do here ����. Now let’s run this through a machine translator: 3 | P a g e “Fac mihi aliquid capulus, quaeso” is Latin and means “Make me some coffee, please”. Now you understand the instruction given and will perform the task by making me some coffee. But what did you need to perform this task? You had the instruction in Latin, a Latin translator and the instruction given in a language you could understand, which was English. Our communication with computers is the same. Computers communicate in binary code (a language consisting of 0s and 1s). Let’s illustrate this: a computer wants to communicate to you and displays the following: . According to Zych (2015), the computer is telling you “Hello”. If you want to learn more about binary code, you can read the article by Zych by clicking here. Note that this article is not part of the syllabus and therefore not examinable. Just like in the case with the Latin phrase, we need interpreters to interpret instructions and communications between us and computers. Programming languages act as these interpreters. So, if I tell a programming language to give a computer an instruction to copy a range of cells in a sheet of a spreadsheet and to copy it to another workbook, the computer will comply. Luckily, I do not have to communicate this directly to the computer using 0s and 1s, as you get different interpreters, which in this case are your programming languages. The problem is that each programming language has its own rules (or syntax). We need to understand the rules so that we can get the computing results we want. Essentially, for us to communicate efficiently with a computer we need to know the programming language. There are different programming languages on the market. Popular languages are Java, R, Python, C, C++ and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). As you were introduced to a Microsoft-based solution called Microsoft Excel (Excel) in AIN1501 and AIN2601, we will teach you to create a solution using VBA. Note that VBA is not available on the web-version of Microsoft Excel. You will need to use the desktop version of Microsoft Excel 365 to work with VBA. Next, we are going to explore the different types of programming structures. 3.3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMMING STRUCTURES In learning unit 1, you learnt about algorithms. Most programming languages make use of sequences, selections, and loops. It is important to understand when and how to make use of these different coding methods as you are going to use them when writing the code for VBA. Watch the video by GCFGlobal (LearnF) that illustrates these concepts by clicking here. 4 | P a g e Activity 3.1 Access activity 3.1 by clicking here. End of activity 3.4 THE MACRO RECORDER VS MANUALLY GENERATING VBA CODE Microsoft Office tasks (including Excel) can be automated using the macro recorder and/or by writing VBA code manually. The macro recorder is a self-generating VBA code tool. You will instruct the recorder to record a task you are performing and assign an execution control (normally a shortcut key or button) to it. When you press the shortcut key, the action will be re-performed. The main disadvantage of the macro recorder is that it cannot follow rule-based decisions, including selections and loops. In contrast, VBA code can be created manually in the VBE (the VBE was discussed in detail in AIN2601. Please refer to your AIN2601 study material for a detailed discussion on the VBE). 3.5 VALUABLE CODING ADVICE