Store large Boolean arrays in a BitArray object

Store large Boolean arrays in a BitArray object

.NET Boolean values require 4 bytes each, as opposed to the 2 byte taken under previous VB versions. When creating very large Boolean arrays this extra memory impacts negatively on the application’s performance. The .NET Framework offers a specialized class, the System.Collection.BitArray class, which lets you store a number of boolean values as if it were a regular array, yet it takes only 1 bit for each element.

You pass the capacity of the array – that is, the number of Boolean values you want to store – to the BitArray’s constructor, and then you write and read its elements as if it were a regular array:

' This code assumes that you have the following Imports'    Imports System.Collections' an array of 1024 boolean valuesDim ba As New BitArray(1024)' set the first elementba(0) = True' read it backConsole.WriteLine(ba(0))

All the elements in a freshly created BitArray are initialized to False, but you can set them to True by using the following constructor

Dim ba As New BitArray(1024, True)

or with the SetAll method

ba.SetAll(True)     ' or False

You can also pass a true Boolean array to the BitArray constructor, so that each element in the BitArray is initialized with the corresponding element in the original Boolean array.

Finally, you can perform bitwise operations on all the members of a BitArray by means of Not, And, Or, and Xor methods. All these methods (except Not) take another BitArray as an argument, so that all the elements of the current BitArray are combined with the corresponding element of the other BitArray according to the specified operation:

Dim ba1 As New BitArray(1024)Dim ba2 As New BitArray(1024)' initialize both BitArrays' ...' AND all the elements in ba1 with the elements in ba2ba1.And(ba2)

Share the Post:
XDR solutions

The Benefits of Using XDR Solutions

Cybercriminals constantly adapt their strategies, developing newer, more powerful, and intelligent ways to attack your network. Since security professionals must innovate as well, more conventional endpoint detection solutions have evolved

AI is revolutionizing fraud detection

How AI is Revolutionizing Fraud Detection

Artificial intelligence – commonly known as AI – means a form of technology with multiple uses. As a result, it has become extremely valuable to a number of businesses across

AI innovation

Companies Leading AI Innovation in 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming industries and revolutionizing business operations. AI’s potential to enhance efficiency and productivity has become crucial to many businesses. As we move into 2023, several

data fivetran pricing

Fivetran Pricing Explained

One of the biggest trends of the 21st century is the massive surge in analytics. Analytics is the process of utilizing data to drive future decision-making. With so much of

kubernetes logging

Kubernetes Logging: What You Need to Know

Kubernetes from Google is one of the most popular open-source and free container management solutions made to make managing and deploying applications easier. It has a solid architecture that makes

ransomware cyber attack

Why Is Ransomware Such a Major Threat?

One of the most significant cyber threats faced by modern organizations is a ransomware attack. Ransomware attacks have grown in both sophistication and frequency over the past few years, forcing

data dictionary

Tools You Need to Make a Data Dictionary

Data dictionaries are crucial for organizations of all sizes that deal with large amounts of data. they are centralized repositories of all the data in organizations, including metadata such as