TryToClear - ReferenceAlias

Member of: ReferenceAlias Script

Clears this alias and returns whether anything was in it to begin with.

Syntax

bool Function TryToClear()
	if (GetReference())
		Clear()
		return True
	endif
	return False
EndFunction

Return Value

Whether the alias had a reference in it when it was cleared or not.

• True - Alias has valid reference, Clear() function called on it
• False - Nothing to clear from the alias

Examples

; Clear the alias
if OptionalAlias.Clear()
  Debug.Trace("Removed something from the alias")
else
  Debug.Trace("Didn't remove anything from the alias (already empty)")
endIf

Notes:

(AliasTryFunctions == TRUE) is NOT an accurate reflection of (AliasRef == HasExpectedResults) OR (Alias == HasNewOrNoValue)

• It IS a reflection that the alias met the criteria to have the functions called upon them
• Many, if not most of these functions are external dispatch to other scripts and do not wait for expected results
• True means alias had valid reference, and is queued to run your desired function on it, or POSSIBLY already has
• False means the alias does not have a reference, or does not have a reference of the appropriate type
• Try functions do NOT return false if the function called(AddToFaction(), Clear() Etc) go on to fail for any reason
• does NOT return false if Clear() fails due to non-optional alias

See Also

• ReferenceAlias Script
• Clear - ReferenceAlias