Question

I’m incrementing a given value in cycle limit of say 6. I’m curious how we can make this code shorter.

function Cycle_Value(inc_value:Number = 5, times:Number = 3):Number
{
    var return_value:Number = inc_value;        

    while(times >= 1)
    {
       if(inc_value < 6)
       {
          inc_value++;
          return_value = inc_value;
       }
       else if(inc_value == 6)
       {
          return_value = 1;
          inc_value = 1;
       }
       else
          trace(inc_value+" is out of bounds");

        times--;
    }
    return return_value;
}

Sample Output: Cycle_Value(5,2) = 1, Cycle_Value(6,10) = 4

Answer 1

Try this:

function Cycle_Value(inc_value:Number = 5, times:Number = 3):Number
{
   return (inc_value -1 + times) % 6 + 1; 
}

You can find more information about the modulo operator at: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/FlashPlatform/reference/actionscript/3/operators.html#modulo

Note 1: If you were willing to work with numbers in the range 0 .. 5 rather than 1 .. 6, you could have simply used the following expression

(inc_value + times) % 6

Note 2: Personally, I would have used different names, e.g. value instead of inc_value and inc instead of times.