VbTypeName Function

VbTypeName Function

Class

Microsoft. VisualBasic.Information

Syntax

 VbTypeName(   urtname   )

urtname (required; String): The name of a CTS datatype

Return Value

A String containing the name of a VB.NET datatype

Description

Returns the name of the VB.NET datatype that corresponds to a particular Common Type System (CTS) datatype

Rules at a Glance

urtname must be the name of a valid CTS datatype, such as Int32, UInt32, String, or DateTime.
If urtname is not a valid CTS datatype, the function returns Nothing .
If urtname is a valid CTS datatype that does not directly correspond to a VB.NET datatype, the function returns Nothing .

Example

 Public Sub Main ' Displays Short Dim intNum As Int16 = 1234 Console.WriteLine(VbTypeName(intNum.GetType(  ).ToString)) ' Displays "" Dim uintNum As UInt16 = Convert.ToUInt16(1234) Console.WriteLine(VbTypeName(uintNum.GetType(  ).ToString)) ' Displays Char Dim chLetter As System.Char = Convert.ToChar("a") Console.WriteLine(VbTypeName(chLetter.GetType(  ).ToString)) ' Displays "" Dim sbytNum As SByte = Convert.ToSByte(-3) Console.WriteLine(VbTypeName(sbytNum.GetType(  ).ToString)) End Sub

Programming Tips and Gotchas

To determine the VB.NET datatype of a particular variable, call the variable's GetType method to retrieve a Type object, then call the Type object's ToString method to retrieve its datatype name. This string can then be passed to the VbTypeName function. For example:
```
 strType = VbTypeName(myVar.GetType(  ).ToString) 
```
If passed the name of a structure defined with the Structure construct or an instance of a class defined with the Class construct, the VbTypeName function returns Nothing .
The existence of the VbTypeName function clearly indicates that VB.NET datatypes are wrappers for some CTS datatypes.

VB.NET/VB 6 Differences

The VbTypeName function is new to VB.NET.