We have several scripts assigned to shortcuts that do things like move PTZ cameras, start/stop split screen presentations, etc. The scripts are in VBA and are all similar in structure: First read the API.XML, then query info like which input is at the preview, then do the desired function.

My question is a general one: Both of the below statements work. But which one is better--more efficient, more readable, more robust?

dim preview as integer = (xml.SelectSingleNode("//preview").InnerText)
dim preview as string = (xml.SelectSingleNode("//preview").InnerText)

I think I like the declaration as an integer, since the data (in this case) is a number. But is it always a number? Is it better to always leave data as a string and test that way? What do the experienced script writers here do?

-Mark

Thanks kross,
You said "Then keep it as string, since that's what you'll need."
I did not know if this is the case. Experimentally I have found that either of these commands work.

dim GTinput as string = "6"
API.Function("NextTitlePreset", Input:=GTinput)
or
dim GTinput as integer = 6
API.Function("NextTitlePreset", Input:=GTinput)

But, if the underlying vMix code is converting the integer to string, I might as well use the former. (Although, surely at some point the vMix is converting it to an index type.)