Data Types
Whether VB is a weakly or a semi-strongly typed language depends on
the Option
Explicit
setting.
(The statement must appear at the top of a code module.) If
Off
, VB is a weakly typed language; variables need
not be declared in advance, and all undeclared variables will be cast
as type Object
until they are initialized. If
On
(its default setting), each variable must be
declared in advance, but its data type need not be specified. If no
type is explicitly declared, variables are cast as type
Object
until their first use.
Although VB recognizes a number of “intrinsic” data types, each is really a wrapper around a data type found in the .NET Common Type System (CTS). VB recognizes the following intrinsic types:
- Boolean
A logical (
True
orFalse
) value. Corresponds toSystem.Boolean
.- Byte
A signed 8-bit numeric data type. Corresponds to
System.Byte
.- Char
A 16-bit character data type (character code). Corresponds to
System.Char
.- Date
A date or time value. Corresponds to
System.DataTime
.- Decimal
A decimal or currency value. Corresponds to
System.Decimal
.- Double
A double-precision floating point value. Corresponds to
System.Double
.- Integer
A signed 32-bit integral data type. Corresponds to
System.Int32
.- Long
A signed 64-bit integral data type. Corresponds to
System.Int64
.- Object
A reference to an object.
Object
is VB’s “universal” data type and corresponds toSystem.Object
.- Short
A signed 16-bit integral data type. Corresponds to
System.Int16
.- Single
A single-precision floating point value. ...
Get VB.NET Language Pocket Reference now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.