vba dictionary vs collection code example
Example: excel vba collection vs dictionary
Feature | COLLECTION | DICTIONARY | Remark
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Usually faster | | X |
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
| | | Dicts: Add ref to Miscrosoft
Native to VBA | X | | Scripting Library. Usage:
| | | Dim MyDict As Scripting.Dictionary
| | | Set MyDict = New Scripting.Dictionary
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Can change Keys and | | | Dict properties are writable.
Items | | X | For collections, remove the item
| | | and add a new item.
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
| | | A collection enumerates its items:
| | | For Each x In MyCollection
| | | Debug.Print x
Enumerated | X | X | Next x
| | | A dict enumerates its keys:
| | | For Each x In MyDictionary
| | | Debug.Print MyDictionary.Item(x)
| | | Next x
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
| | | A 1-d array of keys
Directly output to | | | and items can be returned by
array | | X | dict methods .Keys and .Items.
| | | (The array is zero-based even
| | | with Option Base 1.)
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Implicitly add items | | X | Dicts can implicitly add items
| | | using .Item property.
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Remove all items in | | | With collections, each item must
one step | | X | be removed in turn, or the
| | | collection destroyed and recreated.
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Count items | X | X |
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Return item using | | |
ordinal position | X | (Slow) |
as lookup value | | |
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Return ordinal | | |
position using item | X | ?? |
as lookup value | | |
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Retrieve and access | | X | Collection keys only used to
keys | | | look up data, not retrievable.
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Keys optional | X | | Big + of collections, assuming keys
| | | are not needed. (Access via index.)
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
Case sensitivity | | X |
optional | | |
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
| | | Collection keys must be strings.
Keys can be any type | | X | Dict keys can have any type
| | | (except arrays), incl. mixed types.
------------------------+------------+------------+--------------------------------
| | | * For collections, add code:
| | | Public Function _
| | | Contains(col As Collection, _
Supports .Exists method | Remark* | X | key As Variant) As Boolean
| | | On Error Resume Next
| | | col(key)
| | | Contains = (Err.Number = 0)