Initializing Variables

What value does a variable have when you first declare it, and what happens if you try to read it before you initialize it? And how do you get an initial value into a variable? 

Ocx initialization
Take a look at control and form properties. You initialize them as much as possible at design time in the Properties window. In contrast with VB, GFA-BASIC 32 needs extra code to initialize the item properties of every Ocx that supports a Item collection (ToolBar.Buttons; Status.Panels; etc). Initialization is so important to control and form properties that GFA-BASIC should be extended with more property pages to initialize items at design time. For example, we could use a property box to initialize the strings of a ListBox control at design time, a task you have to perform at run time now.

Initializing variables in general
In some languages, uninitialized variables have a semi-random value. In C, for example, local variables (but not global or static variables) are undefined. If you want an initial value, you must give it. Fortunately for C programmers, this is easy to do. An undefined variable is a disaster waiting to happen, and careful C coders initialize their variables as close to declarations as possible. In contrast, GFA-BASIC 32 always initializes all variables whenever they are declared. String variables are initialized to a "Null-String", numeric variables are initialized to 0, Variants are initialized to Empty, and object variables are initialized to Nothing.
This difference fits the philosophies of C and Basic. C doesn’t initialize variables to a default because local variables must be initialized at run time. This has a cost, and C doesn’t do any run-time work unless you ask for it. Undefined variables are dangerous, but that’s your problem. GFABASIC 32 is more concerned with safety. If you declare an array of 5000 Integers, GFA-BASIC 32 will initialize them all to 0 even if it takes extra run-time work to do so.
However, 0 or Empty might not be the initial value the program needs. In C, you can combine the declaration of a variable with its initialization:

int cLastWindow = 20;

Even arrays can combine a declaration and initialization. 

Fortunately, GFA-BASIC 32 allows declaration and initialization in one statement:

[Global] Dim iCountMax As Integer = 23

This usually works fine, and by using the Global statement global variables can be declared in any procedure. GFA-BASSIC 32 doesn't provide a 'Declarations section at the top' like VB, so we must take care when and where we declare global variables. The problem is that initialization-while-declaring requires executable code, the default value must be copied to the variable's memory location.

You need to find some logical place to put the declaration & initialization. That place must be reached only once—either when the program is executed or the first time the variable is accessed.
Global vs Static Variables
A Static variable is a global variable as well. The difference is that a global variable is visible to all parts of your program, while static variables have an implicit Local clause in front of it. They are only accessible inside a procedure. (Note - A Static variable in the main part of the program is local to the Main section only.) The Static variable can be initialized in a combination with a declaration:

Static fFirstTime As Boolean = True

A Static variable is only initialized once the first time the subroutine is executed. Would you use a global variable declaration & initialization inside a subroutine, the global variable would be initialized over and over.