Implementing Unsigned Right and Left Shift Operators

When translating C code to VB, often you come across the Right Shift and Left Shift operators ( << and >> respectively ). There is no inbuilt support for Right and Left Shift in VB, so you have to code your own. One of the main problems with replacing these functions is that C code often uses them in unsigned operations. VB doesn't support unsigned long integers either, so code can often fail if the highest bit of the long value is involved.

This tip demonstrates how to implement unsigned Right Shift and Left Shift operators without overflow.

Start a new project then add a module. Add the following code to the module:

Option Explicit

Private m_lPower2(0 To 31) As Long

Public Function RShift(ByVal lThis As Long, ByVal lBits As Long) As Long
   If (lBits <= 0) Then
      RShift = lThis
   ElseIf (lBits > 63) Then
      ' .. error ...
   ElseIf (lBits > 31) Then
      RShift = 0
   Else
      If (lThis And m_lPower2(31 - lBits)) = m_lPower2(31 - lBits) Then
         RShift = (lThis And (m_lPower2(31 - lBits) - 1)) * m_lPower2(lBits) Or m_lPower2(31)
      Else
         RShift = (lThis And (m_lPower2(31 - lBits) - 1)) * m_lPower2(lBits)
      End If
   End If
End Function

Public Function LShift(ByVal lThis As Long, ByVal lBits As Long) As Long
   If (lBits <= 0) Then
      LShift = lThis
   ElseIf (lBits > 63) Then
      ' ... error ...
   ElseIf (lBits > 31) Then
      LShift = 0
   Else
      If (lThis And m_lPower2(31)) = m_lPower2(31) Then
         LShift = (lThis And &H7FFFFFFF) \ m_lPower2(lBits) Or m_lPower2(31 - lBits)
      Else
         LShift = lThis \ m_lPower2(lBits)
      End If
   End If
End Function

Public Sub Init()
   m_lPower2(0) = &H1&
   m_lPower2(1) = &H2&
   m_lPower2(2) = &H4&
   m_lPower2(3) = &H8&
   m_lPower2(4) = &H10&
   m_lPower2(5) = &H20&
   m_lPower2(6) = &H40&
   m_lPower2(7) = &H80&
   m_lPower2(8) = &H100&
   m_lPower2(9) = &H200&
   m_lPower2(10) = &H400&
   m_lPower2(11) = &H800&
   m_lPower2(12) = &H1000&
   m_lPower2(13) = &H2000&
   m_lPower2(14) = &H4000&
   m_lPower2(15) = &H8000&
   m_lPower2(16) = &H10000
   m_lPower2(17) = &H20000
   m_lPower2(18) = &H40000
   m_lPower2(19) = &H80000
   m_lPower2(20) = &H100000
   m_lPower2(21) = &H200000
   m_lPower2(22) = &H400000
   m_lPower2(23) = &H800000
   m_lPower2(24) = &H1000000
   m_lPower2(25) = &H2000000
   m_lPower2(26) = &H4000000
   m_lPower2(27) = &H8000000
   m_lPower2(28) = &H10000000
   m_lPower2(29) = &H20000000
   m_lPower2(30) = &H40000000
   m_lPower2(31) = &H80000000
End Sub

To use the code, you initially call Init to set up the precompiled array of powers of 2. This is implemented to help speed the operation of the RShift and LShift functions. Then you use the functions like this:

   Dim lValue As Long

   lValue = &HFFFFFFFF&    ' VB thinks this is -1
   Debug.Print RShift(lValue,4)    ' Shift value right by 4 bits

   ' Answer is &HFFFFFFF0.