VarType Function

VarType Function

---

Class

Microsoft.VisualBasic.Information

Syntax

     Dim result As VariantType = VarType(varName) 

varName (required; any)

The variable, instance, or expression to test

Description

The VarType function indicates the data type of an expression or instance, returning one of the following Microsoft.VisualBasic.VariantType enumeration values. Visual Basic also defines intrinsic constants for many of the members.

Enumeration value	Intrinsic constant	Description
Array	vbArray	An array of data.
Boolean	vbBoolean	Boolean data type (TRue or False).
Byte	vbByte	Byte data type.
Char	vbChar	Char data type.
Currency	vbCurrency	Currency data type. This entry is for backward compatibility. The .NET Decimal data type replaces the VB 6 Currency data subtype.
DataObject		Data objects.
Date	vbDate	Date data type.
Decimal	vbDecimal	Decimal data type.
Double	vbDecimal	Double data type.
Empty	vbEmpty	Null reference.
Error		System.Exception instance.
Integer	vbInteger	Integer data type.
Long	vbLong	Long data type.
Null	vbNull	Null object; DBNull.
Object	vbObject	Object, uninitialized string, uninitialized array, object of a nonspecific type; Nothing.
Short		Short data type.
Single	vbSingle	Single data type.
String	vbString	String data type.
UserDefinedType	vbUserDefinedType	A structure instance.
Variant	vbVariant	Variant data type. This entry is for backward compatibility. The .NET Object data type replaces the VB 6 Variant data type.

Usage at a Glance

• If varName is a dimensioned array, the VarType function returns VariantType.Array and the data type of the array elements, combined using a bitwise Or operation. You can test for an array with a code fragment, such as the following:

       If ((VarType(someVariable) And VariantType.Array) = _        VariantType.Array) Then 

  
  

  You can extract the data type of the array with the following code fragment:

       VarType(someVariable) And Not VariantType.Array 

  
  

• All object variables, whether late bound or early bound, return VariantType.Object.

• Data types that are members of the base class library but do not directly map to one of the core data types listed in the VariantType enumeration (such as UInt16 or even UInteger) return VariantType.UserDefinedType.

Version Differences

• You could not pass a user-defined data type to VarType in VB 6. This use is supported in .NET.

• In VB 6, using the VarType function on an object returned the data type of its default property. In .NET, all objects, including objects that have default properties, return VariantType.Object.

See Also

TypeName Function