7/21/22, 1:31 PM VB.

Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - Overview
Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) is an object-oriented computer programming language implemented on
the .NET Framework. Although it is an evolution of classic Visual Basic language, it is not
backwards-compatible with VB6, and any code written in the old version does not compile under
VB.NET.

Like all other .NET languages, VB.NET has complete support for object-oriented concepts.
Everything in VB.NET is an object, including all of the primitive types (Short, Integer, Long, String,
Boolean, etc.) and user-defined types, events, and even assemblies. All objects inherits from the
base class Object.

VB.NET is implemented by Microsoft's .NET framework. Therefore, it has full access to all the
libraries in the .Net Framework. It's also possible to run VB.NET programs on Mono, the open-
source alternative to .NET, not only under Windows, but even Linux or Mac OSX.

The following reasons make VB.Net a widely used professional language −

Modern, general purpose.

Object oriented.

Component oriented.
Easy to learn.

Structured language.
It produces efficient programs.

It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms.

Part of .Net Framework.

Strong Programming Features VB.Net

VB.Net has numerous strong programming features that make it endearing to multitude of
programmers worldwide. Let us mention some of these features −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 1/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Boolean Conditions

Automatic Garbage Collection

Standard Library

Assembly Versioning
Properties and Events

Delegates and Events Management

Easy-to-use Generics
Indexers

Conditional Compilation
Simple Multithreading

VB.Net - Environment Setup

In this chapter, we will discuss the tools available for creating VB.Net applications.

We have already mentioned that VB.Net is part of .Net framework and used for writing .Net
applications. Therefore before discussing the available tools for running a VB.Net program, let us
understand how VB.Net relates to the .Net framework.

The .Net Framework

The .Net framework is a revolutionary platform that helps you to write the following types of
applications −

Windows applications

Web applications

Web services

The .Net framework applications are multi-platform applications. The framework has been designed
in such a way that it can be used from any of the following languages: Visual Basic, C#, C++,
Jscript, and COBOL, etc.

All these languages can access the framework as well as communicate with each other.

The .Net framework consists of an enormous library of codes used by the client languages like
VB.Net. These languages use object-oriented methodology.

Following are some of the components of the .Net framework −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 2/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Common Language Runtime (CLR)

The .Net Framework Class Library

Common Language Specification

Common Type System

Metadata and Assemblies

Windows Forms

ASP.Net and ASP.Net AJAX

ADO.Net

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

Windows Presentation Foundation

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

LINQ

For the jobs each of these components perform, please see ASP.Net - Introduction , and for
details of each component, please consult Microsoft's documentation.

Integrated Development Environment (IDE) For VB.Net

Microsoft provides the following development tools for VB.Net programming −

Visual Studio 2010 (VS)

Visual Basic 2010 Express (VBE)

Visual Web Developer

The last two are free. Using these tools, you can write all kinds of VB.Net programs from simple
command-line applications to more complex applications. Visual Basic Express and Visual Web
Developer Express edition are trimmed down versions of Visual Studio and has the same look and
feel. They retain most features of Visual Studio. In this tutorial, we have used Visual Basic 2010
Express and Visual Web Developer (for the web programming chapter).

You can download it from here . It gets automatically installed in your machine. Please note that
you need an active internet connection for installing the express edition.

Writing VB.Net Programs on Linux or Mac OS

Although the.NET Framework runs on the Windows operating system, there are some alternative
versions that work on other operating systems. Mono is an open-source version of the .NET

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 3/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Framework which includes a Visual Basic compiler and runs on several operating systems, including
various flavors of Linux and Mac OS. The most recent version is VB 2012.

The stated purpose of Mono is not only to be able to run Microsoft .NET applications cross-platform,
but also to bring better development tools to Linux developers. Mono can be run on many operating
systems including Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, OS X, Windows, Solaris and UNIX.

VB.Net - Program Structure

Before we study basic building blocks of the VB.Net programming language, let us look a bare
minimum VB.Net program structure so that we can take it as a reference in upcoming chapters.

VB.Net Hello World Example

A VB.Net program basically consists of the following parts −

Namespace declaration
A class or module

One or more procedures

Variables

The Main procedure

Statements & Expressions

Comments

Let us look at a simple code that would print the words "Hello World" −

 Live Demo
Imports System
Module Module1
'This program will display Hello World
Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("Hello World")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Hello, World!

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 4/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Let us look various parts of the above program −

The first line of the program Imports System is used to include the System namespace in the
program.

The next line has a Module declaration, the module Module1. VB.Net is completely object
oriented, so every program must contain a module of a class that contains the data and
procedures that your program uses.

Classes or Modules generally would contain more than one procedure. Procedures contain the
executable code, or in other words, they define the behavior of the class. A procedure could be
any of the following −

Function

Sub

Operator
Get

Set

AddHandler

RemoveHandler

RaiseEvent

The next line( 'This program) will be ignored by the compiler and it has been put to add
additional comments in the program.

The next line defines the Main procedure, which is the entry point for all VB.Net programs. The
Main procedure states what the module or class will do when executed.

The Main procedure specifies its behavior with the statement

Console.WriteLine("Hello World") WriteLine is a method of the Console class defined in the

System namespace. This statement causes the message "Hello, World!" to be displayed on the
screen.

The last line Console.ReadKey() is for the VS.NET Users. This will prevent the screen from
running and closing quickly when the program is launched from Visual Studio .NET.

Compile & Execute VB.Net Program

If you are using Visual Studio.Net IDE, take the following steps −

Start Visual Studio.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 5/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

On the menu bar, choose File → New → Project.

Choose Visual Basic from templates

Choose Console Application.

Specify a name and location for your project using the Browse button, and then choose the OK
button.

The new project appears in Solution Explorer.

Write code in the Code Editor.

Click the Run button or the F5 key to run the project. A Command Prompt window appears that
contains the line Hello World.

You can compile a VB.Net program by using the command line instead of the Visual Studio IDE −

Open a text editor and add the above mentioned code.

Save the file as helloworld.vb

Open the command prompt tool and go to the directory where you saved the file.

Type vbc helloworld.vb and press enter to compile your code.

If there are no errors in your code the command prompt will take you to the next line and would
generate helloworld.exe executable file.

Next, type helloworld to execute your program.

You will be able to see "Hello World" printed on the screen.

VB.Net - Basic Syntax

VB.Net is an object-oriented programming language. In Object-Oriented Programming methodology,
a program consists of various objects that interact with each other by means of actions. The actions
that an object may take are called methods. Objects of the same kind are said to have the same
type or, more often, are said to be in the same class.

When we consider a VB.Net program, it can be defined as a collection of objects that communicate
via invoking each other's methods. Let us now briefly look into what do class, object, methods and
instance variables mean.

Object − Objects have states and behaviors. Example: A dog has states - color, name, breed
as well as behaviors - wagging, barking, eating, etc. An object is an instance of a class.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 6/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Class − A class can be defined as a template/blueprint that describes the behaviors/states that
objects of its type support.

Methods − A method is basically a behavior. A class can contain many methods. It is in

methods where the logics are written, data is manipulated and all the actions are executed.

Instance Variables − Each object has its unique set of instance variables. An object's state is
created by the values assigned to these instance variables.

A Rectangle Class in VB.Net

For example, let us consider a Rectangle object. It has attributes like length and width. Depending
upon the design, it may need ways for accepting the values of these attributes, calculating area and
displaying details.

Let us look at an implementation of a Rectangle class and discuss VB.Net basic syntax on the basis
of our observations in it −

 Live Demo
Imports System
Public Class Rectangle
Private length As Double
Private width As Double

'Public methods
Public Sub AcceptDetails()
length = 4.5
width = 3.5
End Sub

Public Function GetArea() As Double

GetArea = length * width
End Function
Public Sub Display()
Console.WriteLine("Length: {0}", length)
Console.WriteLine("Width: {0}", width)
Console.WriteLine("Area: {0}", GetArea())

End Sub

Shared Sub Main()

Dim r As New Rectangle()
r.Acceptdetails()
r.Display()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 7/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Length: 4.5
Width: 3.5
Area: 15.75

In previous chapter, we created a Visual Basic module that held the code. Sub Main indicates the
entry point of VB.Net program. Here, we are using Class that contains both code and data. You use
classes to create objects. For example, in the code, r is a Rectangle object.

An object is an instance of a class −

Dim r As New Rectangle()

A class may have members that can be accessible from outside class, if so specified. Data
members are called fields and procedure members are called methods.

Shared methods or static methods can be invoked without creating an object of the class. Instance
methods are invoked through an object of the class −

Shared Sub Main()

Dim r As New Rectangle()
r.Acceptdetails()
r.Display()
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub

Identifiers
An identifier is a name used to identify a class, variable, function, or any other user-defined item.
The basic rules for naming classes in VB.Net are as follows −

A name must begin with a letter that could be followed by a sequence of letters, digits (0 - 9) or
underscore. The first character in an identifier cannot be a digit.
It must not contain any embedded space or symbol like ? - +! @ # % ^ & * ( ) [ ] { } . ; : " ' / and
\. However, an underscore ( _ ) can be used.

It should not be a reserved keyword.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 8/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net Keywords
The following table lists the VB.Net reserved keywords −

AddHandler AddressOf Alias And AndAlso As Boolean

ByRef Byte ByVal Call Case Catch CBool

CByte CChar CDate CDec CDbl Char CInt

Class CLng CObj Const Continue CSByte CShort

CSng CStr CType CUInt CULng CUShort Date

Decimal Declare Default Delegate Dim DirectCast Do

Double Each Else ElseIf End End If Enum

Erase Error Event Exit False Finally For

Friend Function Get GetType GetXML Namespace Global GoTo

Handles If Implements Imports In Inherits Integer

Interface Is IsNot Let Lib Like Long

Loop Me Mod Module MustInherit MustOverride MyBase

MyClass Namespace Narrowing New Next Not Nothing

Not Inheritable Not Overridable Object Of On Operator Option

Optional Or OrElse Overloads Overridable Overrides ParamArray

Partial Private Property Protected Public RaiseEvent ReadOnly

ReDim REM Remove Handler Resume Return SByte Select

Set Shadows Shared Short Single Static Step

Stop String Structure Sub SyncLock Then Throw

To True Try TryCast TypeOf UInteger While

Widening With WithEvents WriteOnly Xor

VB.Net - Data Types

Data types refer to an extensive system used for declaring variables or functions of different types.
The type of a variable determines how much space it occupies in storage and how the bit pattern
stored is interpreted.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 9/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Data Types Available in VB.Net

VB.Net provides a wide range of data types. The following table shows all the data types available −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 10/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Data Type Storage Value Range

Allocation

Boolean Depends on True or False

implementing
platform

Byte 1 byte 0 through 255 (unsigned)

Char 2 bytes 0 through 65535 (unsigned)

Date 8 bytes 0:00:00 (midnight) on January 1, 0001 through 11:59:59 PM on

December 31, 9999

Decimal 16 bytes 0 through +/-79,228,162,514,264,337,593,543,950,335

(+/-7.9...E+28) with no decimal point; 0 through
+/-7.9228162514264337593543950335 with 28 places to the right
of the decimal

Double 8 bytes
-1.79769313486231570E+308 through
-4.94065645841246544E-324, for negative values

4.94065645841246544E-324 through
1.79769313486231570E+308, for positive values

Integer 4 bytes -2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647 (signed)

Long 8 bytes -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 through

9,223,372,036,854,775,807(signed)

Object Any type can be stored in a variable of type Object

4 bytes on 32-bit
platform

8 bytes on 64-bit
platform

SByte 1 byte -128 through 127 (signed)

Short 2 bytes -32,768 through 32,767 (signed)

Single 4 bytes
-3.4028235E+38 through -1.401298E-45 for negative values;

1.401298E-45 through 3.4028235E+38 for positive values

String Depends on 0 to approximately 2 billion Unicode characters

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 11/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

implementing
platform

UInteger 4 bytes 0 through 4,294,967,295 (unsigned)

ULong 8 bytes 0 through 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 (unsigned)

User-Defined Depends on Each member of the structure has a range determined by its data
implementing type and independent of the ranges of the other members
platform

UShort 2 bytes 0 through 65,535 (unsigned)

Example
The following example demonstrates use of some of the types −

 Live Demo
Module DataTypes
Sub Main()
Dim b As Byte
Dim n As Integer
Dim si As Single
Dim d As Double
Dim da As Date
Dim c As Char
Dim s As String
Dim bl As Boolean

b = 1

n = 1234567
si = 0.12345678901234566
d = 0.12345678901234566
da = Today
c = "U"c
s = "Me"

If ScriptEngine = "VB" Then

bl = True
Else
bl = False
End If

If bl Then
'the oath taking
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 12/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
the oath taking
Console.Write(c & " and," & s & vbCrLf)
Console.WriteLine("declaring on the day of: {0}", da)
Console.WriteLine("We will learn VB.Net seriously")
Console.WriteLine("Lets see what happens to the floating point variables:")
Console.WriteLine("The Single: {0}, The Double: {1}", si, d)
End If
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

U and, Me
declaring on the day of: 12/4/2012 12:00:00 PM
We will learn VB.Net seriously
Lets see what happens to the floating point variables:
The Single:0.1234568, The Double: 0.123456789012346

The Type Conversion Functions in VB.Net

VB.Net provides the following in-line type conversion functions −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 13/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Functions & Description

1
CBool(expression)

Converts the expression to Boolean data type.

2
CByte(expression)

Converts the expression to Byte data type.

3
CChar(expression)

Converts the expression to Char data type.

4
CDate(expression)

Converts the expression to Date data type

5
CDbl(expression)

Converts the expression to Double data type.

6
CDec(expression)

Converts the expression to Decimal data type.

7
CInt(expression)

Converts the expression to Integer data type.

8
CLng(expression)

Converts the expression to Long data type.

9
CObj(expression)

Converts the expression to Object type.

10
CSByte(expression)

Converts the expression to SByte data type.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 14/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

11
CShort(expression)

Converts the expression to Short data type.

12
CSng(expression)

Converts the expression to Single data type.

13
CStr(expression)

Converts the expression to String data type.

14
CUInt(expression)

Converts the expression to UInt data type.

15
CULng(expression)

Converts the expression to ULng data type.

16
CUShort(expression)

Converts the expression to UShort data type.

Example
The following example demonstrates some of these functions −

 Live Demo
Module DataTypes
Sub Main()
Dim n As Integer
Dim da As Date
Dim bl As Boolean = True
n = 1234567
da = Today

Console.WriteLine(bl)
Console.WriteLine(CSByte(bl))
Console.WriteLine(CStr(bl))
Console.WriteLine(CStr(da))

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 15/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Console.WriteLine(CChar(CChar(CStr(n))))
Console.WriteLine(CChar(CStr(da)))
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

True
-1
True
12/4/2012
1
1

VB.Net - Variables
A variable is nothing but a name given to a storage area that our programs can manipulate. Each
variable in VB.Net has a specific type, which determines the size and layout of the variable's
memory; the range of values that can be stored within that memory; and the set of operations that
can be applied to the variable.

We have already discussed various data types. The basic value types provided in VB.Net can be
categorized as −

Type Example

Integral types SByte, Byte, Short, UShort, Integer, UInteger, Long, ULong and Char

Floating point types Single and Double

Decimal types Decimal

Boolean types True or False values, as assigned

Date types Date

VB.Net also allows defining other value types of variable like Enum and reference types of variables
like Class. We will discuss date types and Classes in subsequent chapters.

Variable Declaration in VB.Net

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 16/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

The Dim statement is used for variable declaration and storage allocation for one or more variables.
The Dim statement is used at module, class, structure, procedure or block level.

Syntax for variable declaration in VB.Net is −

[ < attributelist > ] [ accessmodifier ] [[ Shared ] [ Shadows ] | [ Static ]]

[ ReadOnly ] Dim [ WithEvents ] variablelist

Where,

attributelist is a list of attributes that apply to the variable. Optional.

accessmodifier defines the access levels of the variables, it has values as - Public, Protected,
Friend, Protected Friend and Private. Optional.

Shared declares a shared variable, which is not associated with any specific instance of a
class or structure, rather available to all the instances of the class or structure. Optional.
Shadows indicate that the variable re-declares and hides an identically named element, or set
of overloaded elements, in a base class. Optional.
Static indicates that the variable will retain its value, even when the after termination of the
procedure in which it is declared. Optional.

ReadOnly means the variable can be read, but not written. Optional.
WithEvents specifies that the variable is used to respond to events raised by the instance
assigned to the variable. Optional.
Variablelist provides the list of variables declared.

Each variable in the variable list has the following syntax and parts −

variablename[ ( [ boundslist ] ) ] [ As [ New ] datatype ] [ = initializer ]

Where,

variablename − is the name of the variable

boundslist − optional. It provides list of bounds of each dimension of an array variable.

New − optional. It creates a new instance of the class when the Dim statement runs.

datatype − Required if Option Strict is On. It specifies the data type of the variable.

initializer − Optional if New is not specified. Expression that is evaluated and assigned to the
variable when it is created.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 17/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Some valid variable declarations along with their definition are shown here −

Dim StudentID As Integer

Dim StudentName As String
Dim Salary As Double
Dim count1, count2 As Integer
Dim status As Boolean
Dim exitButton As New System.Windows.Forms.Button
Dim lastTime, nextTime As Date

Variable Initialization in VB.Net

Variables are initialized (assigned a value) with an equal sign followed by a constant expression.
The general form of initialization is −

variable_name = value;

for example,

Dim pi As Double
pi = 3.14159

You can initialize a variable at the time of declaration as follows −

Dim StudentID As Integer = 100

Dim StudentName As String = "Bill Smith"

Example
Try the following example which makes use of various types of variables −

 Live Demo
Module variablesNdataypes
Sub Main()
Dim a As Short
Dim b As Integer
Dim c As Double

a = 10
b = 20
c = a + b
Console.WriteLine("a = {0}, b = {1}, c = {2}", a, b, c)
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 18/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

a = 10, b = 20, c = 30

Accepting Values from User

The Console class in the System namespace provides a function ReadLine for accepting input from
the user and store it into a variable. For example,

Dim message As String

message = Console.ReadLine

The following example demonstrates it −

 Live Demo
Module variablesNdataypes
Sub Main()
Dim message As String
Console.Write("Enter message: ")
message = Console.ReadLine
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine("Your Message: {0}", message)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result (assume the user
inputs Hello World) −

Enter message: Hello World

Your Message: Hello World

Lvalues and Rvalues

There are two kinds of expressions −

lvalue − An expression that is an lvalue may appear as either the left-hand or right-hand side of
an assignment.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 19/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

rvalue − An expression that is an rvalue may appear on the right- but not left-hand side of an
assignment.

Variables are lvalues and so may appear on the left-hand side of an assignment. Numeric literals
are rvalues and so may not be assigned and can not appear on the left-hand side. Following is a
valid statement −

Dim g As Integer = 20

But following is not a valid statement and would generate compile-time error −

20 = g

VB.Net - Constants and Enumerations

The constants refer to fixed values that the program may not alter during its execution. These fixed
values are also called literals.

Constants can be of any of the basic data types like an integer constant, a floating constant, a
character constant, or a string literal. There are also enumeration constants as well.

The constants are treated just like regular variables except that their values cannot be modified after
their definition.

An enumeration is a set of named integer constants.

Declaring Constants
In VB.Net, constants are declared using the Const statement. The Const statement is used at
module, class, structure, procedure, or block level for use in place of literal values.

The syntax for the Const statement is −

[ < attributelist > ] [ accessmodifier ] [ Shadows ]

Const constantlist

Where,

attributelist − specifies the list of attributes applied to the constants; you can provide multiple
attributes separated by commas. Optional.

accessmodifier − specifies which code can access these constants. Optional. Values can be
either of the: Public, Protected, Friend, Protected Friend, or Private.
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 20/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Shadows − this makes the constant hide a programming element of identical name in a base
class. Optional.
Constantlist − gives the list of names of constants declared. Required.

Where, each constant name has the following syntax and parts −

constantname [ As datatype ] = initializer

constantname − specifies the name of the constant

datatype − specifies the data type of the constant

initializer − specifies the value assigned to the constant

For example,

'The following statements declare constants.'

Const maxval As Long = 4999
Public Const message As String = "HELLO"
Private Const piValue As Double = 3.1415

Example
The following example demonstrates declaration and use of a constant value −

 Live Demo
Module constantsNenum
Sub Main()
Const PI = 3.14149
Dim radius, area As Single
radius = 7
area = PI * radius * radius
Console.WriteLine("Area = " & Str(area))
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Area = 153.933

Print and Display Constants in VB.Net

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 21/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net provides the following print and display constants −

Sr.No. Constant & Description

1
vbCrLf

Carriage return/linefeed character combination.

2
vbCr

Carriage return character.

3
vbLf

Linefeed character.

4
vbNewLine

Newline character.

5
vbNullChar

Null character.

6
vbNullString

Not the same as a zero-length string (""); used for calling external procedures.

7
vbObjectError

Error number. User-defined error numbers should be greater than this value. For
example: Err.Raise(Number) = vbObjectError + 1000

8
vbTab

Tab character.

9
vbBack

Backspace character.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 22/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Declaring Enumerations
An enumerated type is declared using the Enum statement. The Enum statement declares an
enumeration and defines the values of its members. The Enum statement can be used at the
module, class, structure, procedure, or block level.

The syntax for the Enum statement is as follows −

[ < attributelist > ] [ accessmodifier ] [ Shadows ]

Enum enumerationname [ As datatype ]
memberlist
End Enum

Where,

attributelist − refers to the list of attributes applied to the variable. Optional.

accessmodifier − specifies which code can access these enumerations. Optional. Values can
be either of the: Public, Protected, Friend or Private.
Shadows − this makes the enumeration hide a programming element of identical name in a
base class. Optional.
enumerationname − name of the enumeration. Required

datatype − specifies the data type of the enumeration and all its members.

memberlist − specifies the list of member constants being declared in this statement.
Required.

Each member in the memberlist has the following syntax and parts:

[< attribute list >] member name [ = initializer ]

Where,

name − specifies the name of the member. Required.

initializer − value assigned to the enumeration member. Optional.

For example,

Enum Colors
red = 1
orange = 2
yellow = 3

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 23/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

green = 4
azure = 5
blue = 6
violet = 7
End Enum

Example
The following example demonstrates declaration and use of the Enum variable Colors −

 Live Demo
Module constantsNenum
Enum Colors
red = 1
orange = 2
yellow = 3
green = 4
azure = 5
blue = 6
violet = 7
End Enum

Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("The Color Red is : " & Colors.red)
Console.WriteLine("The Color Yellow is : " & Colors.yellow)
Console.WriteLine("The Color Blue is : " & Colors.blue)
Console.WriteLine("The Color Green is : " & Colors.green)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

The Color Red is: 1

The Color Yellow is: 3
The Color Blue is: 6
The Color Green is: 4

VB.Net - Modifiers

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 24/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

The modifiers are keywords added with any programming element to give some especial emphasis
on how the programming element will behave or will be accessed in the program.

For example, the access modifiers: Public, Private, Protected, Friend, Protected Friend, etc.,
indicate the access level of a programming element like a variable, constant, enumeration or a
class.

List of Available Modifiers in VB.Net

The following table provides the complete list of VB.Net modifiers −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 25/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Modifier Description

1 Ansi Specifies that Visual Basic should marshal all strings to American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) values regardless of the name of
the external procedure being declared.

2 Assembly Specifies that an attribute at the beginning of a source file applies to

the entire assembly.

3 Async Indicates that the method or lambda expression that it modifies is

asynchronous. Such methods are referred to as async methods. The
caller of an async method can resume its work without waiting for the
async method to finish.

4 Auto The charsetmodifier part in the Declare statement supplies the

character set information for marshaling strings during a call to the
external procedure. It also affects how Visual Basic searches the
external file for the external procedure name. The Auto modifier
specifies that Visual Basic should marshal strings according to .NET
Framework rules.

5 ByRef Specifies that an argument is passed by reference, i.e., the called

procedure can change the value of a variable underlying the
argument in the calling code. It is used under the contexts of −

Declare Statement
Function Statement
Sub Statement

6 ByVal Specifies that an argument is passed in such a way that the called
procedure or property cannot change the value of a variable
underlying the argument in the calling code. It is used under the
contexts of −

Declare Statement
Function Statement
Operator Statement
Property Statement
Sub Statement

7 Default Identifies a property as the default property of its class, structure, or

interface.

8 Friend
Specifies that one or more declared programming elements are

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 26/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

accessible from within the assembly that contains their

declaration, not only by the component that declares them.

Friend access is often the preferred level for an application's

programming elements, and Friend is the default access level of
an interface, a module, a class, or a structure.

9 In It is used in generic interfaces and delegates.

10 Iterator Specifies that a function or Get accessor is an iterator. An iterator

performs a custom iteration over a collection.

11 Key The Key keyword enables you to specify behavior for properties of
anonymous types.

12 Module Specifies that an attribute at the beginning of a source file applies to

the current assembly module. It is not same as the Module
statement.

13 MustInherit Specifies that a class can be used only as a base class and that you
cannot create an object directly from it.

14 MustOverride Specifies that a property or procedure is not implemented in this

class and must be overridden in a derived class before it can be
used.

15 Narrowing Indicates that a conversion operator (CType) converts a class or

structure to a type that might not be able to hold some of the
possible values of the original class or structure.

16 NotInheritable Specifies that a class cannot be used as a base class.

17 NotOverridable Specifies that a property or procedure cannot be overridden in a

derived class.

18 Optional Specifies that a procedure argument can be omitted when the

procedure is called.

19 Out For generic type parameters, the Out keyword specifies that the type
is covariant.

20 Overloads Specifies that a property or procedure redeclares one or more

existing properties or procedures with the same name.

21 Overridable Specifies that a property or procedure can be overridden by an

identically named property or procedure in a derived class.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 27/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

22 Overrides Specifies that a property or procedure overrides an identically named

property or procedure inherited from a base class.

23 ParamArray ParamArray allows you to pass an arbitrary number of arguments to

the procedure. A ParamArray parameter is always declared using
ByVal.

24 Partial Indicates that a class or structure declaration is a partial definition of

the class or structure.

25 Private Specifies that one or more declared programming elements are

accessible only from within their declaration context, including from
within any contained types.

26 Protected Specifies that one or more declared programming elements are

accessible only from within their own class or from a derived class.

27 Public Specifies that one or more declared programming elements have no

access restrictions.

28 ReadOnly Specifies that a variable or property can be read but not written.

29 Shadows Specifies that a declared programming element redeclares and hides

an identically named element, or set of overloaded elements, in a
base class.

30 Shared Specifies that one or more declared programming elements are

associated with a class or structure at large, and not with a specific
instance of the class or structure.

31 Static Specifies that one or more declared local variables are to continue to
exist and retain their latest values after termination of the procedure
in which they are declared.

32 Unicode Specifies that Visual Basic should marshal all strings to Unicode
values regardless of the name of the external procedure being
declared.

33 Widening Indicates that a conversion operator (CType) converts a class or

structure to a type that can hold all possible values of the original
class or structure.

34 WithEvents Specifies that one or more declared member variables refer to an

instance of a class that can raise events.

35 WriteOnly Specifies that a property can be written but not read.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 28/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - Statements
A statement is a complete instruction in Visual Basic programs. It may contain keywords, operators,
variables, literal values, constants and expressions.

Statements could be categorized as −

Declaration statements − these are the statements where you name a variable, constant, or
procedure, and can also specify a data type.

Executable statements − these are the statements, which initiate actions. These statements
can call a method or function, loop or branch through blocks of code or assign values or
expression to a variable or constant. In the last case, it is called an Assignment statement.

Declaration Statements
The declaration statements are used to name and define procedures, variables, properties, arrays,
and constants. When you declare a programming element, you can also define its data type, access
level, and scope.

The programming elements you may declare include variables, constants, enumerations, classes,
structures, modules, interfaces, procedures, procedure parameters, function returns, external
procedure references, operators, properties, events, and delegates.

Following are the declaration statements in VB.Net −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 29/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Statements and Description Example

1
Dim Statement Dim number As Integer
Dim quantity As Integer = 100
Declares and allocates storage
Dim message As String = "Hello!"
space for one or more variables.

2
Const Statement Const maximum As Long = 1000
Const naturalLogBase As Object
Declares and defines one or more
= CDec(2.7182818284)
constants.

3
Enum Statement Enum CoffeeMugSize
Jumbo
Declares an enumeration and defines
ExtraLarge
the values of its members. Large
Medium
Small
End Enum

4
Class Statement Class Box
Public length As Double
Declares the name of a class and
Public breadth As Double
introduces the definition of the Public height As Double
variables, properties, events, and End Class
procedures that the class comprises.

5
Structure Statement Structure Box
Public length As Double
Declares the name of a structure and
Public breadth As Double
introduces the definition of the Public height As Double
variables, properties, events, and End Structure
procedures that the structure
comprises.

6
Module Statement Public Module myModule
Sub Main()
Declares the name of a module and
Dim user As String =
introduces the definition of the
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 30/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

variables, properties, events, and InputBox("What is your name?")

MsgBox("User name is" & user)
procedures that the module
End Sub
comprises.
End Module

7
Interface Statement Public Interface MyInterface
Sub doSomething()
Declares the name of an interface
End Interface
and introduces the definitions of the
members that the interface
comprises.

8
Function Statement Function myFunction
(ByVal n As Integer) As Double
Declares the name, parameters, and
Return 5.87 * n
code that define a Function End Function
procedure.

9
Sub Statement Sub mySub(ByVal s As String)
Return
Declares the name, parameters, and
End Sub
code that define a Sub procedure.

10
Declare Statement Declare Function getUserName
Lib "advapi32.dll"
Declares a reference to a procedure
Alias "GetUserNameA"
implemented in an external file. (
ByVal lpBuffer As String,
ByRef nSize As Integer) As Integer

11
Operator Statement Public Shared Operator +
(ByVal x As obj, ByVal y As obj) As obj
Declares the operator symbol,
Dim r As New obj
operands, and code that define an ' implemention code for r = x + y
operator procedure on a class or Return r
structure. End Operator

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 31/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

12 Property Statement ReadOnly Property quote() As String

Get
Declares the name of a property, and Return quoteString
the property procedures used to End Get
store and retrieve the value of the End Property
property.

13
Event Statement Public Event Finished()

Declares a user-defined event.

14
Delegate Statement Delegate Function MathOperator(
ByVal x As Double,
Used to declare a delegate.
ByVal y As Double
) As Double

Executable Statements
An executable statement performs an action. Statements calling a procedure, branching to another
place in the code, looping through several statements, or evaluating an expression are executable
statements. An assignment statement is a special case of an executable statement.

Example

The following example demonstrates a decision making statement −

 Live Demo
Module decisions
Sub Main()
'local variable definition '
Dim a As Integer = 10

' check the boolean condition using if statement '

If (a < 20) Then
' if condition is true then print the following '
Console.WriteLine("a is less than 20")
End If
Console.WriteLine("value of a is : {0}", a)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 32/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

a is less than 20;

value of a is : 10

VB.Net - Directives
The VB.Net compiler directives give instructions to the compiler to preprocess the information before
actual compilation starts. All these directives begin with #, and only white-space characters may
appear before a directive on a line. These directives are not statements.

VB.Net compiler does not have a separate preprocessor; however, the directives are processed as if
there was one. In VB.Net, the compiler directives are used to help in conditional compilation. Unlike
C and C++ directives, they are not used to create macros.

Compiler Directives in VB.Net

VB.Net provides the following set of compiler directives −

The #Const Directive

The #ExternalSource Directive

The #If...Then...#Else Directives

The #Region Directive

The #Const Directive

This directive defines conditional compiler constants. Syntax for this directive is −

#Const constname = expression

Where,

constname − specifies the name of the constant. Required.

expression − it is either a literal, or other conditional compiler constant, or a combination

including any or all arithmetic or logical operators except Is.

For example,

#Const state = "WEST BENGAL"

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 33/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Example

The following code demonstrates a hypothetical use of the directive −

 Live Demo
Module mydirectives
#Const age = True
Sub Main()
#If age Then
Console.WriteLine("You are welcome to the Robotics Club")
#End If
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

You are welcome to the Robotics Club

The #ExternalSource Directive

This directive is used for indicating a mapping between specific lines of source code and text
external to the source. It is used only by the compiler and the debugger has no effect on code
compilation.

This directive allows including external code from an external code file into a source code file.

Syntax for this directive is −

#ExternalSource( StringLiteral , IntLiteral )

[ LogicalLine ]
#End ExternalSource

The parameters of #ExternalSource directive are the path of external file, line number of the first
line, and the line where the error occurred.

Example

The following code demonstrates a hypothetical use of the directive −

Module mydirectives
Public Class ExternalSourceTester

Sub TestExternalSource()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 34/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

#ExternalSource("c:\vbprogs\directives.vb", 5)
Console.WriteLine("This is External Code. ")
#End ExternalSource

End Sub
End Class

Sub Main()
Dim t As New ExternalSourceTester()
t.TestExternalSource()
Console.WriteLine("In Main.")
Console.ReadKey()

End Sub

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

This is External Code.

In Main.

The #If...Then...#Else Directives

This directive conditionally compiles selected blocks of Visual Basic code.

Syntax for this directive is −

#If expression Then

statements
[ #ElseIf expression Then
[ statements ]
...
#ElseIf expression Then
[ statements ] ]
[ #Else
[ statements ] ]
#End If

For example,

#Const TargetOS = "Linux"

#If TargetOS = "Windows 7" Then
' Windows 7 specific code
#ElseIf TargetOS = "WinXP" Then

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 35/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

' Windows XP specific code

#Else
' Code for other OS
#End if

Example

The following code demonstrates a hypothetical use of the directive −

 Live Demo
Module mydirectives
#Const classCode = 8

Sub Main()
#If classCode = 7 Then
Console.WriteLine("Exam Questions for Class VII")
#ElseIf classCode = 8 Then
Console.WriteLine("Exam Questions for Class VIII")
#Else
Console.WriteLine("Exam Questions for Higher Classes")
#End If
Console.ReadKey()

End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Exam Questions for Class VIII

The #Region Directive

This directive helps in collapsing and hiding sections of code in Visual Basic files.

Syntax for this directive is −

#Region "identifier_string"
#End Region

For example,

#Region "StatsFunctions"
' Insert code for the Statistical functions here.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 36/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

#End Region

VB.Net - Operators
An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical
manipulations. VB.Net is rich in built-in operators and provides following types of commonly used
operators −

Arithmetic Operators

Comparison Operators
Logical/Bitwise Operators

Bit Shift Operators

Assignment Operators
Miscellaneous Operators

This tutorial will explain the most commonly used operators.

Arithmetic Operators
Following table shows all the arithmetic operators supported by VB.Net. Assume variable A holds 2
and variable B holds 7, then −

Show Examples

Operator Description Example

^ Raises one operand to the power of another B^A will give 49

+ Adds two operands A + B will give 9

- Subtracts second operand from the first A - B will give -5

* Multiplies both operands A * B will give 14

/ Divides one operand by another and returns a floating B / A will give 3.5
point result

\ Divides one operand by another and returns an integer B \ A will give 3

result

MOD Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer B MOD A will give 1
division

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 37/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Comparison Operators
Following table shows all the comparison operators supported by VB.Net. Assume variable A holds
10 and variable B holds 20, then −

Show Examples

Operator Description Example

= Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not; if (A = B) is not true.
yes, then condition becomes true.

<> Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not; if (A <> B) is true.
values are not equal, then condition becomes true.

> Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the (A > B) is not true.
value of right operand; if yes, then condition becomes
true.

< Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value (A < B) is true.
of right operand; if yes, then condition becomes true.

>= Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or (A >= B) is not true.
equal to the value of right operand; if yes, then
condition becomes true.

<= Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal (A <= B) is true.
to the value of right operand; if yes, then condition
becomes true.

Apart from the above, VB.Net provides three more comparison operators, which we will be using in
forthcoming chapters; however, we give a brief description here.

Is Operator − It compares two object reference variables and determines if two object
references refer to the same object without performing value comparisons. If object1 and
object2 both refer to the exact same object instance, result is True; otherwise, result is False.

IsNot Operator − It also compares two object reference variables and determines if two object
references refer to different objects. If object1 and object2 both refer to the exact same object
instance, result is False; otherwise, result is True.
Like Operator − It compares a string against a pattern.

Logical/Bitwise Operators
Following table shows all the logical operators supported by VB.Net. Assume variable A holds
Boolean value True and variable B holds Boolean value False, then −
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 38/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Show Examples

Operator Description Example

And It is the logical as well as bitwise AND operator. If both (A And B) is False.
the operands are true, then condition becomes true.
This operator does not perform short-circuiting, i.e., it
evaluates both the expressions.

Or It is the logical as well as bitwise OR operator. If any of (A Or B) is True.

the two operands is true, then condition becomes true.
This operator does not perform short-circuiting, i.e., it
evaluates both the expressions.

Not It is the logical as well as bitwise NOT operator. Use to Not(A And B) is True.
reverses the logical state of its operand. If a condition is
true, then Logical NOT operator will make false.

Xor It is the logical as well as bitwise Logical Exclusive OR A Xor B is True.

operator. It returns True if both expressions are True or
both expressions are False; otherwise it returns False.
This operator does not perform short-circuiting, it
always evaluates both expressions and there is no
short-circuiting counterpart of this operator.

AndAlso It is the logical AND operator. It works only on Boolean (A AndAlso B) is False.
data. It performs short-circuiting.

OrElse It is the logical OR operator. It works only on Boolean (A OrElse B) is True.

data. It performs short-circuiting.

IsFalse It determines whether an expression is False.

IsTrue It determines whether an expression is True.

Bit Shift Operators

We have already discussed the bitwise operators. The bit shift operators perform the shift
operations on binary values. Before coming into the bit shift operators, let us understand the bit
operations.

Bitwise operators work on bits and perform bit-by-bit operations. The truth tables for &, |, and ^ are
as follows −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 39/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

p q p&q p|q p^q

0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 1 1

1 1 1 1 0

1 0 0 1 1

Assume if A = 60; and B = 13; now in binary format they will be as follows −

A = 0011 1100

B = 0000 1101

-----------------

A&B = 0000 1100

A|B = 0011 1101

A^B = 0011 0001

~A = 1100 0011

We have seen that the Bitwise operators supported by VB.Net are And, Or, Xor and Not. The Bit
shift operators are >> and << for left shift and right shift, respectively.

Assume that the variable A holds 60 and variable B holds 13, then −

Show Examples

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 40/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Operator Description Example

And Bitwise AND Operator copies a bit to the result if it (A AND B) will give 12, which is
exists in both operands. 0000 1100

Or Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists in either (A Or B) will give 61, which is
operand. 0011 1101

Xor Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is set in one (A Xor B) will give 49, which is
operand but not both. 0011 0001

Not Binary Ones Complement Operator is unary and has (Not A ) will give -61, which is
the effect of 'flipping' bits. 1100 0011 in 2's complement
form due to a signed binary
number.

<< Binary Left Shift Operator. The left operands value is A << 2 will give 240, which is
moved left by the number of bits specified by the right 1111 0000
operand.

>> Binary Right Shift Operator. The left operands value is A >> 2 will give 15, which is 0000
moved right by the number of bits specified by the right 1111
operand.

Assignment Operators
There are following assignment operators supported by VB.Net −

Show Examples

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 41/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Operator Description Example

= Simple assignment operator, Assigns values from right C = A + B will assign value of A +
side operands to left side operand B into C

+= Add AND assignment operator, It adds right operand to C += A is equivalent to C = C + A

the left operand and assigns the result to left operand

-= Subtract AND assignment operator, It subtracts right C -= A is equivalent to C = C - A

operand from the left operand and assigns the result to
left operand

*= Multiply AND assignment operator, It multiplies right C *= A is equivalent to C = C * A

operand with the left operand and assigns the result to
left operand

/= Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand C /= A is equivalent to C = C / A

with the right operand and assigns the result to left
operand (floating point division)

\= Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand C \= A is equivalent to C = C \A

with the right operand and assigns the result to left
operand (Integer division)

^= Exponentiation and assignment operator. It raises the C^=A is equivalent to C = C ^ A

left operand to the power of the right operand and
assigns the result to left operand.

<<= Left shift AND assignment operator C <<= 2 is same as C = C << 2

>>= Right shift AND assignment operator C >>= 2 is same as C = C >> 2

&= Concatenates a String expression to a String variable or

Str1 &= Str2 is same as
property and assigns the result to the variable or
property. Str1 = Str1 & Str2

Miscellaneous Operators
There are few other important operators supported by VB.Net.

Show Examples

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 42/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Operator Description Example

AddressOf Returns the address of a

procedure. AddHandler Button1.Click,
AddressOf Button1_Click

Await It is applied to an operand in an

asynchronous method or lambda
Dim result As res
expression to suspend execution of
the method until the awaited task = Await AsyncMethodThatReturnsResult()
Await AsyncMethod()
completes.

GetType It returns a Type object for the

specified type. The Type object MsgBox(GetType(Integer).ToString())
provides information about the type
such as its properties, methods,
and events.

Function It declares the parameters and

Expression code that define a function lambda Dim add5 = Function(num As
Integer) num + 5
expression.
'prints 10
Console.WriteLine(add5(5))

If It uses short-circuit evaluation to

conditionally return one of two Dim num = 5
Console.WriteLine(If(num >= 0,
values. The If operator can be
called with three arguments or with "Positive", "Negative"))
two arguments.

Operators Precedence in VB.Net

Operator precedence determines the grouping of terms in an expression. This affects how an
expression is evaluated. Certain operators have higher precedence than others; for example, the
multiplication operator has higher precedence than the addition operator −

For example, x = 7 + 3 * 2; here, x is assigned 13, not 20 because operator * has higher precedence
than +, so it first gets multiplied with 3*2 and then adds into 7.

Here, operators with the highest precedence appear at the top of the table, those with the lowest
appear at the bottom. Within an expression, higher precedence operators will be evaluated first.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 43/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Show Examples

Operator Precedence

Await Highest

Exponentiation (^)

Unary identity and negation (+, -)

Multiplication and floating-point division (*, /)

Integer division (\)

Modulus arithmetic (Mod)

Addition and subtraction (+, -)

Arithmetic bit shift (<<, >>)

All comparison operators (=, <>, <, <=, >, >=, Is, IsNot, Like,
TypeOf...Is)

Negation (Not)

Conjunction (And, AndAlso)

Inclusive disjunction (Or, OrElse)

Exclusive disjunction (Xor) Lowest

VB.Net - Decision Making

Decision making structures require that the programmer specify one or more conditions to be
evaluated or tested by the program, along with a statement or statements to be executed if the
condition is determined to be true, and optionally, other statements to be executed if the condition is
determined to be false.

Following is the general form of a typical decision making structure found in most of the
programming languages −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 44/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net provides the following types of decision making statements. Click the following links to check
their details.

Statement Description

If ... Then statement An If...Then statement consists of a boolean expression

followed by one or more statements.

If...Then...Else statement An If...Then statement can be followed by an optional Else

statement, which executes when the boolean expression is
false.

You can use one If or Else if statement inside another If or Else if

nested If statements
statement(s).

Select Case statement A Select Case statement allows a variable to be tested for
equality against a list of values.

nested Select Case You can use one select case statement inside another select
statements case statement(s).

VB.Net - Loops

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 45/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

There may be a situation when you need to execute a block of code several number of times. In
general, statements are executed sequentially: The first statement in a function is executed first,
followed by the second, and so on.

Programming languages provide various control structures that allow for more complicated
execution paths.

A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times and
following is the general form of a loop statement in most of the programming languages −

VB.Net provides following types of loops to handle looping requirements. Click the following links to
check their details.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 46/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Loop Type Description

Do Loop It repeats the enclosed block of statements while a Boolean

condition is True or until the condition becomes True. It could be
terminated at any time with the Exit Do statement.

For...Next It repeats a group of statements a specified number of times and a

loop index counts the number of loop iterations as the loop
executes.

For Each...Next It repeats a group of statements for each element in a collection. This
loop is used for accessing and manipulating all elements in an array or
a VB.Net collection.

While... End While It executes a series of statements as long as a given condition is

True.

With... End With It is not exactly a looping construct. It executes a series of

statements that repeatedly refer to a single object or structure.

Nested loops You can use one or more loops inside any another While, For or Do
loop.

Loop Control Statements

Loop control statements change execution from its normal sequence. When execution leaves a
scope, all automatic objects that were created in that scope are destroyed.

VB.Net provides the following control statements. Click the following links to check their details.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 47/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Control Statement Description

Exit statement Terminates the loop or select case statement and transfers
execution to the statement immediately following the loop or select
case.

Continue statement Causes the loop to skip the remainder of its body and immediately
retest its condition prior to reiterating.

GoTo statement Transfers control to the labeled statement. Though it is not advised
to use GoTo statement in your program.

VB.Net - Strings
In VB.Net, you can use strings as array of characters, however, more common practice is to use the
String keyword to declare a string variable. The string keyword is an alias for the System.String
class.

Creating a String Object

You can create string object using one of the following methods −

By assigning a string literal to a String variable

By using a String class constructor

By using the string concatenation operator (+)

By retrieving a property or calling a method that returns a string

By calling a formatting method to convert a value or object to its string representation

The following example demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
Module strings
Sub Main()
Dim fname, lname, fullname, greetings As String
fname = "Rowan"
lname = "Atkinson"
fullname = fname + " " + lname
Console.WriteLine("Full Name: {0}", fullname)
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 48/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

'by using string constructor

Dim letters As Char() = {"H", "e", "l", "l", "o"}
greetings = New String(letters)
Console.WriteLine("Greetings: {0}", greetings)

'methods returning String

Dim sarray() As String = {"Hello", "From", "Tutorials", "Point"}

Dim message As String = String.Join(" ", sarray)

Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", message)

'formatting method to convert a value

Dim waiting As DateTime = New DateTime(2012, 12, 12, 17, 58, 1)
Dim chat As String = String.Format("Message sent at {0:t} on {0:D}", waiting)
Console.WriteLine("Message: {0}", chat)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Full Name: Rowan Atkinson

Greetings: Hello
Message: Hello From Tutorials Point
Message: Message sent at 5:58 PM on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Properties of the String Class

The String class has the following two properties −

Sr.No Property Name & Description

1
Chars

Gets the Char object at a specified position in the current String object.

2
Length

Gets the number of characters in the current String object.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 49/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Methods of the String Class

The String class has numerous methods that help you in working with the string objects. The
following table provides some of the most commonly used methods −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 50/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Method Name & Description

1
Public Shared Function Compare ( strA As String, strB As String ) As Integer

Compares two specified string objects and returns an integer that indicates their relative
position in the sort order.

2
Public Shared Function Compare ( strA As String, strB As String, ignoreCase As
Boolean ) As Integer

Compares two specified string objects and returns an integer that indicates their relative
position in the sort order. However, it ignores case if the Boolean parameter is true.

3
Public Shared Function Concat ( str0 As String, str1 As String ) As String

Concatenates two string objects.

4
Public Shared Function Concat ( str0 As String, str1 As String, str2 As String ) As
String

Concatenates three string objects.

5
Public Shared Function Concat (str0 As String, str1 As String, str2 As String, str3
As String ) As String

Concatenates four string objects.

6
Public Function Contains ( value As String ) As Boolean

Returns a value indicating whether the specified string object occurs within this string.

7
Public Shared Function Copy ( str As String ) As String

Creates a new String object with the same value as the specified string.

8
pPublic Sub CopyTo ( sourceIndex As Integer, destination As Char(),
destinationIndex As Integer, count As Integer )

Copies a specified number of characters from a specified position of the string object to a
specified position in an array of Unicode characters.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 51/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

9
Public Function EndsWith ( value As String ) As Boolean

Determines whether the end of the string object matches the specified string.

10
Public Function Equals ( value As String ) As Boolean

Determines whether the current string object and the specified string object have the
same value.

11
Public Shared Function Equals ( a As String, b As String ) As Boolean

Determines whether two specified string objects have the same value.

12
Public Shared Function Format ( format As String, arg0 As Object ) As String

Replaces one or more format items in a specified string with the string representation of a
specified object.

13
Public Function IndexOf ( value As Char ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified Unicode character in
the current string.

14
Public Function IndexOf ( value As String ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified string in this
instance.

15
Public Function IndexOf ( value As Char, startIndex As Integer ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified Unicode character in
this string, starting search at the specified character position.

16
Public Function IndexOf ( value As String, startIndex As Integer ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence of the specified string in this
instance, starting search at the specified character position.

17
Public Function IndexOfAny ( anyOf As Char() ) As Integer

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 52/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence in this instance of any character in a
specified array of Unicode characters.

18
Public Function IndexOfAny ( anyOf As Char(), startIndex As Integer ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index of the first occurrence in this instance of any character in a
specified array of Unicode characters, starting search at the specified character position.

19
Public Function Insert ( startIndex As Integer, value As String ) As String

Returns a new string in which a specified string is inserted at a specified index position in
the current string object.

20
Public Shared Function IsNullOrEmpty ( value As String ) As Boolean

Indicates whether the specified string is null or an Empty string.

21
Public Shared Function Join ( separator As String, ParamArray value As String() )
As String

Concatenates all the elements of a string array, using the specified separator between
each element.

22
Public Shared Function Join ( separator As String, value As String(), startIndex As
Integer, count As Integer ) As String

Concatenates the specified elements of a string array, using the specified separator
between each element.

23
Public Function LastIndexOf ( value As Char ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index position of the last occurrence of the specified Unicode
character within the current string object.

24
Public Function LastIndexOf ( value As String ) As Integer

Returns the zero-based index position of the last occurrence of a specified string within
the current string object.

25
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 53/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Public Function Remove ( startIndex As Integer ) As String

Removes all the characters in the current instance, beginning at a specified position and
continuing through the last position, and returns the string.

26
Public Function Remove ( startIndex As Integer, count As Integer ) As String

Removes the specified number of characters in the current string beginning at a specified
position and returns the string.

27
Public Function Replace ( oldChar As Char, newChar As Char ) As String

Replaces all occurrences of a specified Unicode character in the current string object with
the specified Unicode character and returns the new string.

28
Public Function Replace ( oldValue As String, newValue As String ) As String

Replaces all occurrences of a specified string in the current string object with the
specified string and returns the new string.

29
Public Function Split ( ParamArray separator As Char() ) As String()

Returns a string array that contains the substrings in the current string object, delimited
by elements of a specified Unicode character array.

30
Public Function Split ( separator As Char(), count As Integer ) As String()

Returns a string array that contains the substrings in the current string object, delimited
by elements of a specified Unicode character array. The int parameter specifies the
maximum number of substrings to return.

31
Public Function StartsWith ( value As String ) As Boolean

Determines whether the beginning of this string instance matches the specified string.

32
Public Function ToCharArray As Char()

Returns a Unicode character array with all the characters in the current string object.

33
Public Function ToCharArray ( startIndex As Integer, length As Integer ) As Char()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 54/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Returns a Unicode character array with all the characters in the current string object,
starting from the specified index and up to the specified length.

34
Public Function ToLower As String

Returns a copy of this string converted to lowercase.

35
Public Function ToUpper As String

Returns a copy of this string converted to uppercase.

36
Public Function Trim As String

Removes all leading and trailing white-space characters from the current String object.

The above list of methods is not exhaustive, please visit MSDN library for the complete list of
methods and String class constructors.

Examples
The following example demonstrates some of the methods mentioned above −

Comparing Strings

 Live Demo
Module strings
Sub Main()
Dim str1, str2 As String
str1 = "This is test"
str2 = "This is text"

If (String.Compare(str1, str2) = 0) Then

Console.WriteLine(str1 + " and " + str2 + " are equal.")
Else
Console.WriteLine(str1 + " and " + str2 + " are not equal.")
End If
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 55/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

This is test and This is text are not equal.

String Contains String

 Live Demo
Module strings
Sub Main()
Dim str1 As String
str1 = "This is test"

If (str1.Contains("test")) Then
Console.WriteLine("The sequence 'test' was found.")
End If
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

The sequence 'test' was found.

Getting a Substring:

 Live Demo
Module strings
Sub Main()
Dim str As String
str = "Last night I dreamt of San Pedro"
Console.WriteLine(str)

Dim substr As String = str.Substring(23)

Console.WriteLine(substr)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro

San Pedro.

Joining Strings

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 56/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

 Live Demo
Module strings
Sub Main()
Dim strarray As String() = {
"Down the way where the nights are gay",
"And the sun shines daily on the mountain top",
"I took a trip on a sailing ship",
"And when I reached Jamaica",
"I made a stop"
}
Dim str As String = String.Join(vbCrLf, strarray)
Console.WriteLine(str)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Down the way where the nights are gay

And the sun shines daily on the mountain top
I took a trip on a sailing ship
And when I reached Jamaica
I made a stop

VB.Net - Date & Time

Most of the softwares you write need implementing some form of date functions returning current
date and time. Dates are so much part of everyday life that it becomes easy to work with them
without thinking. VB.Net also provides powerful tools for date arithmetic that makes manipulating
dates easy.

The Date data type contains date values, time values, or date and time values. The default value of
Date is 0:00:00 (midnight) on January 1, 0001. The equivalent .NET data type is System.DateTime.

The DateTime structure represents an instant in time, typically expressed as a date and time of day

'Declaration
<SerializableAttribute> _
Public Structure DateTime _
Implements IComparable, IFormattable, IConvertible, ISerializable,
IComparable(Of DateTime), IEquatable(Of DateTime)

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 57/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

You can also get the current date and time from the DateAndTime class.

The DateAndTime module contains the procedures and properties used in date and time
operations.

'Declaration
<StandardModuleAttribute> _
Public NotInheritable Class DateAndTime

Note:

Both the DateTime structure and the DateAndTime module contain properties like Now and
Today, so often beginners find it confusing. The DateAndTime class belongs to the
Microsoft.VisualBasic namespace and the DateTime structure belongs to the System namespace.
Therefore, using the later would help you in porting your code to another .Net language like C#.
However, the DateAndTime class/module contains all the legacy date functions available in Visual
Basic.

Properties and Methods of the DateTime Structure

The following table lists some of the commonly used properties of the DateTime Structure −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 58/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Property Description

1 Date Gets the date component of this instance.

2 Day Gets the day of the month represented by this instance.

3 DayOfWeek Gets the day of the week represented by this instance.

4 DayOfYear Gets the day of the year represented by this instance.

5 Hour Gets the hour component of the date represented by this instance.

6 Kind Gets a value that indicates whether the time represented by this
instance is based on local time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC),
or neither.

7 Millisecond Gets the milliseconds component of the date represented by this

instance.

8 Minute Gets the minute component of the date represented by this instance.

9 Month Gets the month component of the date represented by this instance.

10 Now Gets a DateTime object that is set to the current date and time on
this computer, expressed as the local time.

11 Second Gets the seconds component of the date represented by this

instance.

12 Ticks Gets the number of ticks that represent the date and time of this
instance.

13 TimeOfDay Gets the time of day for this instance.

14 Today Gets the current date.

15 UtcNow Gets a DateTime object that is set to the current date and time on
this computer, expressed as the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

16 Year Gets the year component of the date represented by this instance.

The following table lists some of the commonly used methods of the DateTime structure −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 59/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Method Name & Description

1
Public Function Add (value As TimeSpan) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the value of the specified TimeSpan to the value of
this instance.

2
Public Function AddDays ( value As Double) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the specified number of days to the value of this
instance.

3
Public Function AddHours (value As Double) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the specified number of hours to the value of this
instance.

4
Public Function AddMinutes (value As Double) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the specified number of minutes to the value of this
instance.

5
Public Function AddMonths (months As Integer) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the specified number of months to the value of this
instance.

6
Public Function AddSeconds (value As Double) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the specified number of seconds to the value of this
instance.

7
Public Function AddYears (value As Integer ) As DateTime

Returns a new DateTime that adds the specified number of years to the value of this
instance.

8
Public Shared Function Compare (t1 As DateTime,t2 As DateTime) As Integer

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 60/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Compares two instances of DateTime and returns an integer that indicates whether the
first instance is earlier than, the same as, or later than the second instance.

9
Public Function CompareTo (value As DateTime) As Integer

Compares the value of this instance to a specified DateTime value and returns an integer
that indicates whether this instance is earlier than, the same as, or later than the specified
DateTime value.

10
Public Function Equals (value As DateTime) As Boolean

Returns a value indicating whether the value of this instance is equal to the value of the
specified DateTime instance.

11
Public Shared Function Equals (t1 As DateTime, t2 As DateTime) As Boolean

Returns a value indicating whether two DateTime instances have the same date and time
value.

12
Public Overrides Function ToString As String

Converts the value of the current DateTime object to its equivalent string representation.

The above list of methods is not exhaustive, please visit Microsoft documentation for the
complete list of methods and properties of the DateTime structure.

Creating a DateTime Object

You can create a DateTime object in one of the following ways −

By calling a DateTime constructor from any of the overloaded DateTime constructors.

By assigning the DateTime object a date and time value returned by a property or method.

By parsing the string representation of a date and time value.

By calling the DateTime structure's implicit default constructor.

The following example demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
Module Module1
Sub Main()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 61/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

'DateTime constructor: parameters year, month, day, hour, min, sec

Dim date1 As New Date(2012, 12, 16, 12, 0, 0)
'initializes a new DateTime value
Dim date2 As Date = #12/16/2012 12:00:52 AM#
'using properties
Dim date3 As Date = Date.Now
Dim date4 As Date = Date.UtcNow
Dim date5 As Date = Date.Today

Console.WriteLine(date1)
Console.WriteLine(date2)
Console.WriteLine(date3)
Console.WriteLine(date4)
Console.WriteLine(date5)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code was compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

12/16/2012 12:00:00 PM
12/16/2012 12:00:52 PM
12/12/2012 10:22:50 PM
12/12/2012 12:00:00 PM

Getting the Current Date and Time

The following programs demonstrate how to get the current date and time in VB.Net −

Current Time −

 Live Demo
Module dateNtime
Sub Main()
Console.Write("Current Time: ")
Console.WriteLine(Now.ToLongTimeString)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Current Time: 11 :05 :32 AM

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 62/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Current Date −

 Live Demo
Module dateNtime
Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("Current Date: ")
Dim dt As Date = Today
Console.WriteLine("Today is: {0}", dt)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Today is: 12/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

Formatting Date
A Date literal should be enclosed within hash signs (# #), and specified in the format M/d/yyyy, for
example #12/16/2012#. Otherwise, your code may change depending on the locale in which your
application is running.

For example, you specified Date literal of #2/6/2012# for the date February 6, 2012. It is alright for
the locale that uses mm/dd/yyyy format. However, in a locale that uses dd/mm/yyyy format, your
literal would compile to June 2, 2012. If a locale uses another format say, yyyy/mm/dd, the literal
would be invalid and cause a compiler error.

To convert a Date literal to the format of your locale or to a custom format, use the Format function
of String class, specifying either a predefined or user-defined date format.

The following example demonstrates this.

 Live Demo
Module dateNtime
Sub Main()
Console.WriteLine("India Wins Freedom: ")
Dim independenceDay As New Date(1947, 8, 15, 0, 0, 0)
' Use format specifiers to control the date display.
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'd:' " & independenceDay.ToString("d"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'D:' " & independenceDay.ToString("D"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 't:' " & independenceDay.ToString("t"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'T:' " & independenceDay.ToString("T"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'f:' " & independenceDay.ToString("f"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'F:' " & independenceDay.ToString("F"))
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 63/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Console.WriteLine(" Format 'g:' " & independenceDay.ToString("g"))

Console.WriteLine(" Format 'G:' " & independenceDay.ToString("G"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'M:' " & independenceDay.ToString("M"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'R:' " & independenceDay.ToString("R"))
Console.WriteLine(" Format 'y:' " & independenceDay.ToString("y"))
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

India Wins Freedom:

Format 'd:' 8/15/1947
Format 'D:' Friday, August 15, 1947
Format 't:' 12:00 AM
Format 'T:' 12:00:00 AM
Format 'f:' Friday, August 15, 1947 12:00 AM
Format 'F:' Friday, August 15, 1947 12:00:00 AM
Format 'g:' 8/15/1947 12:00 AM
Format 'G:' 8/15/1947 12:00:00 AM
Format 'M:' 8/15/1947 August 15
Format 'R:' Fri, 15 August 1947 00:00:00 GMT
Format 'y:' August, 1947

Predefined Date/Time Formats

The following table identifies the predefined date and time format names. These may be used by
name as the style argument for the Format function −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 64/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Format Description

General Date, or G Displays a date and/or time. For example, 1/12/2012 07:07:30 AM.

Long Date,Medium Date, Displays a date according to your current culture's long date format. For
or D example, Sunday, December 16, 2012.

Short Date, or d Displays a date using your current culture's short date format. For
example, 12/12/2012.

Long Time,Medium Time, Displays a time using your current culture's long time format; typically
orT includes hours, minutes, seconds. For example, 01:07:30 AM.

Short Time or t Displays a time using your current culture's short time format. For
example, 11:07 AM.

f Displays the long date and short time according to your current culture's
format. For example, Sunday, December 16, 2012 12:15 AM.

F Displays the long date and long time according to your current culture's
format. For example, Sunday, December 16, 2012 12:15:31 AM.

g Displays the short date and short time according to your current culture's
format. For example, 12/16/2012 12:15 AM.

M, m Displays the month and the day of a date. For example, December 16.

R, r Formats the date according to the RFC1123Pattern property.

s Formats the date and time as a sortable index. For example, 2012-12-
16T12:07:31.

u Formats the date and time as a GMT sortable index. For example, 2012-
12-16 12:15:31Z.

U Formats the date and time with the long date and long time as GMT. For
example, Sunday, December 16, 2012 6:07:31 PM.

Y, y Formats the date as the year and month. For example, December, 2012.

For other formats like user-defined formats, please consult Microsoft Documentation .

Properties and Methods of the DateAndTime Class

The following table lists some of the commonly used properties of the DateAndTime Class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 65/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Property & Description

1
Date

Returns or sets a String value representing the current date according to your system.

2
Now

Returns a Date value containing the current date and time according to your system.

3
TimeOfDay

Returns or sets a Date value containing the current time of day according to your system.

4
Timer

Returns a Double value representing the number of seconds elapsed since midnight.

5
TimeString

Returns or sets a String value representing the current time of day according to your
system.

6
Today

Gets the current date.

The following table lists some of the commonly used methods of the DateAndTime class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 66/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Method Name & Description

1
Public Shared Function DateAdd (Interval As DateInterval, Number As Double,
DateValue As DateTime) As DateTime

Returns a Date value containing a date and time value to which a specified time interval
has been added.

2
Public Shared Function DateAdd (Interval As String,Number As Double,DateValue
As Object ) As DateTime

Returns a Date value containing a date and time value to which a specified time interval
has been added.

3
Public Shared Function DateDiff (Interval As DateInterval, Date1 As DateTime,
Date2 As DateTime, DayOfWeek As FirstDayOfWeek, WeekOfYear As
FirstWeekOfYear ) As Long

Returns a Long value specifying the number of time intervals between two Date values.

4
Public Shared Function DatePart (Interval As DateInterval, DateValue As DateTime,
FirstDayOfWeekValue As FirstDayOfWeek, FirstWeekOfYearValue As
FirstWeekOfYear ) As Integer

Returns an Integer value containing the specified component of a given Date value.

5
Public Shared Function Day (DateValue As DateTime) As Integer

Returns an Integer value from 1 through 31 representing the day of the month.

6
Public Shared Function Hour (TimeValue As DateTime) As Integer

Returns an Integer value from 0 through 23 representing the hour of the day.

7
Public Shared Function Minute (TimeValue As DateTime) As Integer

Returns an Integer value from 0 through 59 representing the minute of the hour.

8
Public Shared Function Month (DateValue As DateTime) As Integer

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 67/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Returns an Integer value from 1 through 12 representing the month of the year.

9
Public Shared Function MonthName (Month As Integer, Abbreviate As Boolean) As
String

Returns a String value containing the name of the specified month.

10
Public Shared Function Second (TimeValue As DateTime) As Integer

Returns an Integer value from 0 through 59 representing the second of the minute.

11
Public Overridable Function ToString As String

Returns a string that represents the current object.

12
Public Shared Function Weekday (DateValue As DateTime, DayOfWeek As
FirstDayOfWeek) As Integer

Returns an Integer value containing a number representing the day of the week.

13
Public Shared Function WeekdayName (Weekday As Integer, Abbreviate As
Boolean, FirstDayOfWeekValue As FirstDayOfWeek) As String

Returns a String value containing the name of the specified weekday.

14
Public Shared Function Year (DateValue As DateTime) As Integer

Returns an Integer value from 1 through 9999 representing the year.

The above list is not exhaustive. For complete list of properties and methods of the DateAndTime
class, please consult Microsoft Documentation .

The following program demonstrates some of these and methods −

 Live Demo
Module Module1
Sub Main()
Dim birthday As Date
Dim bday As Integer
Dim month As Integer
Dim monthname As String

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 68/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

' Assign a date using standard short format.

birthday = #7/27/1998#
bday = Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.Day(birthday)
month = Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.Month(birthday)
monthname = Microsoft.VisualBasic.DateAndTime.MonthName(month)

Console.WriteLine(birthday)
Console.WriteLine(bday)
Console.WriteLine(month)
Console.WriteLine(monthname)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

7/27/1998 12:00:00 AM
27
7
July

VB.Net - Arrays
An array stores a fixed-size sequential collection of elements of the same type. An array is used to
store a collection of data, but it is often more useful to think of an array as a collection of variables of
the same type.

All arrays consist of contiguous memory locations. The lowest address corresponds to the first
element and the highest address to the last element.

Creating Arrays in VB.Net

To declare an array in VB.Net, you use the Dim statement. For example,

Dim intData(30) ' an array of 31 elements

Dim strData(20) As String ' an array of 21 strings

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 69/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Dim twoDarray(10, 20) As Integer 'a two dimensional array of integers

Dim ranges(10, 100) 'a two dimensional array

You can also initialize the array elements while declaring the array. For example,

Dim intData() As Integer = {12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32}

Dim names() As String = {"Karthik", "Sandhya", _
"Shivangi", "Ashwitha", "Somnath"}
Dim miscData() As Object = {"Hello World", 12d, 16ui, "A"c}

The elements in an array can be stored and accessed by using the index of the array. The following
program demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
Dim n(10) As Integer ' n is an array of 11 integers '
Dim i, j As Integer
' initialize elements of array n '

For i = 0 To 10
n(i) = i + 100 ' set element at location i to i + 100
Next i
' output each array element's value '

For j = 0 To 10
Console.WriteLine("Element({0}) = {1}", j, n(j))
Next j
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Element(0) = 100
Element(1) = 101
Element(2) = 102
Element(3) = 103
Element(4) = 104
Element(5) = 105
Element(6) = 106
Element(7) = 107
Element(8) = 108

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 70/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Element(9) = 109
Element(10) = 110

Dynamic Arrays
Dynamic arrays are arrays that can be dimensioned and re-dimensioned as par the need of the
program. You can declare a dynamic array using the ReDim statement.

Syntax for ReDim statement −

ReDim [Preserve] arrayname(subscripts)

Where,

The Preserve keyword helps to preserve the data in an existing array, when you resize it.

arrayname is the name of the array to re-dimension.

subscripts specifies the new dimension.

Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
Dim marks() As Integer
ReDim marks(2)
marks(0) = 85
marks(1) = 75
marks(2) = 90

ReDim Preserve marks(10)

marks(3) = 80
marks(4) = 76
marks(5) = 92
marks(6) = 99
marks(7) = 79
marks(8) = 75

For i = 0 To 10
Console.WriteLine(i & vbTab & marks(i))
Next i
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 71/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

0 85
1 75
2 90
3 80
4 76
5 92
6 99
7 79
8 75
9 0
10 0

Multi-Dimensional Arrays
VB.Net allows multidimensional arrays. Multidimensional arrays are also called rectangular arrays.

You can declare a 2-dimensional array of strings as −

Dim twoDStringArray(10, 20) As String

or, a 3-dimensional array of Integer variables −

Dim threeDIntArray(10, 10, 10) As Integer

The following program demonstrates creating and using a 2-dimensional array −

 Live Demo
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
' an array with 5 rows and 2 columns
Dim a(,) As Integer = {{0, 0}, {1, 2}, {2, 4}, {3, 6}, {4, 8}}
Dim i, j As Integer
' output each array element's value '

For i = 0 To 4
For j = 0 To 1
Console.WriteLine("a[{0},{1}] = {2}", i, j, a(i, j))
Next j
Next i
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 72/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

a[0,0]: 0
a[0,1]: 0
a[1,0]: 1
a[1,1]: 2
a[2,0]: 2
a[2,1]: 4
a[3,0]: 3
a[3,1]: 6
a[4,0]: 4
a[4,1]: 8

Jagged Array
A Jagged array is an array of arrays. The following code shows declaring a jagged array named
scores of Integers −

Dim scores As Integer()() = New Integer(5)(){}

The following example illustrates using a jagged array −

 Live Demo
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
'a jagged array of 5 array of integers
Dim a As Integer()() = New Integer(4)() {}
a(0) = New Integer() {0, 0}
a(1) = New Integer() {1, 2}
a(2) = New Integer() {2, 4}
a(3) = New Integer() {3, 6}
a(4) = New Integer() {4, 8}
Dim i, j As Integer
' output each array element's value

For i = 0 To 4
For j = 0 To 1
Console.WriteLine("a[{0},{1}] = {2}", i, j, a(i)(j))
Next j
Next i
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 73/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

a[0][0]: 0
a[0][1]: 0
a[1][0]: 1
a[1][1]: 2
a[2][0]: 2
a[2][1]: 4
a[3][0]: 3
a[3][1]: 6
a[4][0]: 4
a[4][1]: 8

The Array Class

The Array class is the base class for all the arrays in VB.Net. It is defined in the System namespace.
The Array class provides various properties and methods to work with arrays.

Properties of the Array Class

The following table provides some of the most commonly used properties of the Array class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 74/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Property Name & Description

1
IsFixedSize

Gets a value indicating whether the Array has a fixed size.

2
IsReadOnly

Gets a value indicating whether the Array is read-only.

3
Length

Gets a 32-bit integer that represents the total number of elements in all the dimensions
of the Array.

4
LongLength

Gets a 64-bit integer that represents the total number of elements in all the dimensions
of the Array.

5
Rank

Gets the rank (number of dimensions) of the Array.

Methods of the Array Class

The following table provides some of the most commonly used methods of the Array class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 75/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No Method Name & Description

1
Public Shared Sub Clear (array As Array, index As Integer, length As Integer)

Sets a range of elements in the Array to zero, to false, or to null, depending on the
element type.

2
Public Shared Sub Copy (sourceArray As Array, destinationArray As Array, length
As Integer)

Copies a range of elements from an Array starting at the first element and pastes them
into another Array starting at the first element. The length is specified as a 32-bit integer.

3
Public Sub CopyTo (array As Array, index As Integer)

Copies all the elements of the current one-dimensional Array to the specified one-
dimensional Array starting at the specified destination Array index. The index is specified
as a 32-bit integer.

4
Public Function GetLength (dimension As Integer) As Integer

Gets a 32-bit integer that represents the number of elements in the specified dimension
of the Array.

5
Public Function GetLongLength (dimension As Integer) As Long

Gets a 64-bit integer that represents the number of elements in the specified dimension
of the Array.

6
Public Function GetLowerBound (dimension As Integer) As Integer

Gets the lower bound of the specified dimension in the Array.

7
Public Function GetType As Type

Gets the Type of the current instance (Inherited from Object).

8
Public Function GetUpperBound (dimension As Integer) As Integer

Gets the upper bound of the specified dimension in the Array.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 76/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

9
Public Function GetValue (index As Integer) As Object

Gets the value at the specified position in the one-dimensional Array. The index is
specified as a 32-bit integer.

10
Public Shared Function IndexOf (array As Array,value As Object) As Integer

Searches for the specified object and returns the index of the first occurrence within the
entire one-dimensional Array.

11
Public Shared Sub Reverse (array As Array)

Reverses the sequence of the elements in the entire one-dimensional Array.

12
Public Sub SetValue (value As Object, index As Integer)

Sets a value to the element at the specified position in the one-dimensional Array. The
index is specified as a 32-bit integer.

13
Public Shared Sub Sort (array As Array)

Sorts the elements in an entire one-dimensional Array using the IComparable

implementation of each element of the Array.

14
Public Overridable Function ToString As String

Returns a string that represents the current object (Inherited from Object).

For complete list of Array class properties and methods, please consult Microsoft documentation.

Example
The following program demonstrates use of some of the methods of the Array class:

 Live Demo
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
Dim list As Integer() = {34, 72, 13, 44, 25, 30, 10}
Dim temp As Integer() = list
Dim i As Integer
Console.Write("Original Array: ")

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 77/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

For Each i In list

Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next i
Console.WriteLine()
' reverse the array
Array.Reverse(temp)
Console.Write("Reversed Array: ")

For Each i In temp

Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next i
Console.WriteLine()
'sort the array
Array.Sort(list)
Console.Write("Sorted Array: ")

For Each i In list

Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next i
Console.WriteLine()
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Original Array: 34 72 13 44 25 30 10
Reversed Array: 10 30 25 44 13 72 34
Sorted Array: 10 13 25 30 34 44 72

VB.Net - Collections
Collection classes are specialized classes for data storage and retrieval. These classes provide
support for stacks, queues, lists, and hash tables. Most collection classes implement the same
interfaces.

Collection classes serve various purposes, such as allocating memory dynamically to elements and
accessing a list of items on the basis of an index, etc. These classes create collections of objects of
the Object class, which is the base class for all data types in VB.Net.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 78/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Various Collection Classes and Their Usage

The following are the various commonly used classes of the System.Collection namespace. Click
the following links to check their details.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 79/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Class Description and Useage

ArrayList It represents ordered collection of an object that can be indexed individually.

It is basically an alternative to an array. However, unlike array, you can add

and remove items from a list at a specified position using an index and the
array resizes itself automatically. It also allows dynamic memory allocation,
add, search and sort items in the list.

Hashtable It uses a key to access the elements in the collection.

A hash table is used when you need to access elements by using key, and
you can identify a useful key value. Each item in the hash table has a
key/value pair. The key is used to access the items in the collection.

SortedList It uses a key as well as an index to access the items in a list.

A sorted list is a combination of an array and a hash table. It contains a list of

items that can be accessed using a key or an index. If you access items using
an index, it is an ArrayList, and if you access items using a key, it is a
Hashtable. The collection of items is always sorted by the key value.

Stack It represents a last-in, first out collection of object.

It is used when you need a last-in, first-out access of items. When you add an
item in the list, it is called pushing the item, and when you remove it, it is
called popping the item.

Queue It represents a first-in, first out collection of object.

It is used when you need a first-in, first-out access of items. When you add an
item in the list, it is called enqueue, and when you remove an item, it is called
deque.

BitArray It represents an array of the binary representation using the values 1 and 0.

It is used when you need to store the bits but do not know the number of bits
in advance. You can access items from the BitArray collection by using an
integer index, which starts from zero.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 80/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - Functions
A procedure is a group of statements that together perform a task when called. After the procedure
is executed, the control returns to the statement calling the procedure. VB.Net has two types of
procedures −

Functions
Sub procedures or Subs

Functions return a value, whereas Subs do not return a value.

Defining a Function
The Function statement is used to declare the name, parameter and the body of a function. The
syntax for the Function statement is −

[Modifiers] Function FunctionName [(ParameterList)] As ReturnType

[Statements]
End Function

Where,

Modifiers − specify the access level of the function; possible values are: Public, Private,
Protected, Friend, Protected Friend and information regarding overloading, overriding, sharing,
and shadowing.

FunctionName − indicates the name of the function

ParameterList − specifies the list of the parameters

ReturnType − specifies the data type of the variable the function returns

Example
Following code snippet shows a function FindMax that takes two integer values and returns the
larger of the two.

Function FindMax(ByVal num1 As Integer, ByVal num2 As Integer) As Integer

' local variable declaration */
Dim result As Integer

If (num1 > num2) Then

result = num1
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 81/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Else
result = num2
End If
FindMax = result
End Function

Function Returning a Value

In VB.Net, a function can return a value to the calling code in two ways −

By using the return statement

By assigning the value to the function name

The following example demonstrates using the FindMax function −

 Live Demo
Module myfunctions
Function FindMax(ByVal num1 As Integer, ByVal num2 As Integer) As Integer
' local variable declaration */
Dim result As Integer

If (num1 > num2) Then

result = num1
Else
result = num2
End If
FindMax = result
End Function
Sub Main()
Dim a As Integer = 100
Dim b As Integer = 200
Dim res As Integer

res = FindMax(a, b)
Console.WriteLine("Max value is : {0}", res)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Max value is : 200

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 82/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Recursive Function
A function can call itself. This is known as recursion. Following is an example that calculates
factorial for a given number using a recursive function −

 Live Demo
Module myfunctions
Function factorial(ByVal num As Integer) As Integer
' local variable declaration */
Dim result As Integer

If (num = 1) Then
Return 1
Else
result = factorial(num - 1) * num
Return result
End If
End Function
Sub Main()
'calling the factorial method
Console.WriteLine("Factorial of 6 is : {0}", factorial(6))
Console.WriteLine("Factorial of 7 is : {0}", factorial(7))
Console.WriteLine("Factorial of 8 is : {0}", factorial(8))
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Factorial of 6 is: 720

Factorial of 7 is: 5040
Factorial of 8 is: 40320

Param Arrays
At times, while declaring a function or sub procedure, you are not sure of the number of arguments
passed as a parameter. VB.Net param arrays (or parameter arrays) come into help at these times.

The following example demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
Module myparamfunc
Function AddElements(ParamArray arr As Integer()) As Integer
Dim sum As Integer = 0

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 83/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Dim i As Integer = 0

For Each i In arr

sum += i
Next i
Return sum
End Function
Sub Main()
Dim sum As Integer
sum = AddElements(512, 720, 250, 567, 889)
Console.WriteLine("The sum is: {0}", sum)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

The sum is: 2938

Passing Arrays as Function Arguments

You can pass an array as a function argument in VB.Net. The following example demonstrates this
−

 Live Demo
Module arrayParameter
Function getAverage(ByVal arr As Integer(), ByVal size As Integer) As Double
'local variables
Dim i As Integer
Dim avg As Double
Dim sum As Integer = 0

For i = 0 To size - 1
sum += arr(i)
Next i
avg = sum / size
Return avg
End Function
Sub Main()
' an int array with 5 elements '
Dim balance As Integer() = {1000, 2, 3, 17, 50}
Dim avg As Double
'pass pointer to the array as an argument

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 84/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

avg = getAverage(balance, 5)
' output the returned value '
Console.WriteLine("Average value is: {0} ", avg)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Average value is: 214.4

VB.Net - Sub Procedures

As we mentioned in the previous chapter, Sub procedures are procedures that do not return any
value. We have been using the Sub procedure Main in all our examples. We have been writing
console applications so far in these tutorials. When these applications start, the control goes to the
Main Sub procedure, and it in turn, runs any other statements constituting the body of the program.

Defining Sub Procedures

The Sub statement is used to declare the name, parameter and the body of a sub procedure. The
syntax for the Sub statement is −

[Modifiers] Sub SubName [(ParameterList)]

[Statements]
End Sub

Where,

Modifiers − specify the access level of the procedure; possible values are - Public, Private,
Protected, Friend, Protected Friend and information regarding overloading, overriding, sharing,
and shadowing.

SubName − indicates the name of the Sub

ParameterList − specifies the list of the parameters

Example
The following example demonstrates a Sub procedure CalculatePay that takes two parameters
hours and wages and displays the total pay of an employee −

 Live Demo
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 85/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Module mysub
Sub CalculatePay(ByRef hours As Double, ByRef wage As Decimal)
'local variable declaration
Dim pay As Double
pay = hours * wage
Console.WriteLine("Total Pay: {0:C}", pay)
End Sub
Sub Main()
'calling the CalculatePay Sub Procedure
CalculatePay(25, 10)
CalculatePay(40, 20)
CalculatePay(30, 27.5)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Total Pay: $250.00

Total Pay: $800.00
Total Pay: $825.00

Passing Parameters by Value

This is the default mechanism for passing parameters to a method. In this mechanism, when a
method is called, a new storage location is created for each value parameter. The values of the
actual parameters are copied into them. So, the changes made to the parameter inside the method
have no effect on the argument.

In VB.Net, you declare the reference parameters using the ByVal keyword. The following example
demonstrates the concept −

 Live Demo
Module paramByval
Sub swap(ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer)
Dim temp As Integer
temp = x ' save the value of x
x = y ' put y into x
y = temp 'put temp into y
End Sub
Sub Main()
' local variable definition

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 86/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Dim a As Integer = 100

Dim b As Integer = 200
Console.WriteLine("Before swap, value of a : {0}", a)
Console.WriteLine("Before swap, value of b : {0}", b)
' calling a function to swap the values '
swap(a, b)
Console.WriteLine("After swap, value of a : {0}", a)
Console.WriteLine("After swap, value of b : {0}", b)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Before swap, value of a :100

Before swap, value of b :200
After swap, value of a :100
After swap, value of b :200

It shows that there is no change in the values though they had been changed inside the function.

Passing Parameters by Reference

A reference parameter is a reference to a memory location of a variable. When you pass
parameters by reference, unlike value parameters, a new storage location is not created for these
parameters. The reference parameters represent the same memory location as the actual
parameters that are supplied to the method.

In VB.Net, you declare the reference parameters using the ByRef keyword. The following example
demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
Module paramByref
Sub swap(ByRef x As Integer, ByRef y As Integer)
Dim temp As Integer
temp = x ' save the value of x
x = y ' put y into x
y = temp 'put temp into y
End Sub
Sub Main()
' local variable definition
Dim a As Integer = 100
Dim b As Integer = 200

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 87/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Console.WriteLine("Before swap, value of a : {0}", a)

Console.WriteLine("Before swap, value of b : {0}", b)
' calling a function to swap the values '
swap(a, b)
Console.WriteLine("After swap, value of a : {0}", a)
Console.WriteLine("After swap, value of b : {0}", b)
Console.ReadLine()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Before swap, value of a : 100

Before swap, value of b : 200
After swap, value of a : 200
After swap, value of b : 100

VB.Net - Classes & Objects

When you define a class, you define a blueprint for a data type. This doesn't actually define any
data, but it does define what the class name means, that is, what an object of the class will consist
of and what operations can be performed on such an object.

Objects are instances of a class. The methods and variables that constitute a class are called
members of the class.

Class Definition
A class definition starts with the keyword Class followed by the class name; and the class body,
ended by the End Class statement. Following is the general form of a class definition −

[ <attributelist> ] [ accessmodifier ] [ Shadows ] [ MustInherit | NotInheritable ] [

Class name [ ( Of typelist ) ]
[ Inherits classname ]
[ Implements interfacenames ]
[ statements ]
End Class

Where,

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 88/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

attributelist is a list of attributes that apply to the class. Optional.

accessmodifier defines the access levels of the class, it has values as - Public, Protected,
Friend, Protected Friend and Private. Optional.

Shadows indicate that the variable re-declares and hides an identically named element, or set
of overloaded elements, in a base class. Optional.

MustInherit specifies that the class can be used only as a base class and that you cannot
create an object directly from it, i.e., an abstract class. Optional.
NotInheritable specifies that the class cannot be used as a base class.

Partial indicates a partial definition of the class.

Inherits specifies the base class it is inheriting from.

Implements specifies the interfaces the class is inheriting from.

The following example demonstrates a Box class, with three data members, length, breadth and
height −

 Live Demo
Module mybox
Class Box
Public length As Double ' Length of a box
Public breadth As Double ' Breadth of a box
Public height As Double ' Height of a box
End Class
Sub Main()
Dim Box1 As Box = New Box() ' Declare Box1 of type Box
Dim Box2 As Box = New Box() ' Declare Box2 of type Box
Dim volume As Double = 0.0 ' Store the volume of a box here

' box 1 specification

Box1.height = 5.0
Box1.length = 6.0
Box1.breadth = 7.0

' box 2 specification

Box2.height = 10.0
Box2.length = 12.0
Box2.breadth = 13.0

'volume of box 1
volume = Box1.height * Box1.length * Box1.breadth

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 89/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Console.WriteLine("Volume of Box1 : {0}", volume)

'volume of box 2
volume = Box2.height * Box2.length * Box2.breadth
Console.WriteLine("Volume of Box2 : {0}", volume)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Volume of Box1 : 210

Volume of Box2 : 1560

Member Functions and Encapsulation

A member function of a class is a function that has its definition or its prototype within the class
definition like any other variable. It operates on any object of the class of which it is a member and
has access to all the members of a class for that object.

Member variables are attributes of an object (from design perspective) and they are kept private to
implement encapsulation. These variables can only be accessed using the public member functions.

Let us put above concepts to set and get the value of different class members in a class −

 Live Demo
Module mybox
Class Box
Public length As Double ' Length of a box
Public breadth As Double ' Breadth of a box
Public height As Double ' Height of a box
Public Sub setLength(ByVal len As Double)
length = len
End Sub

Public Sub setBreadth(ByVal bre As Double)

breadth = bre
End Sub

Public Sub setHeight(ByVal hei As Double)

height = hei
End Sub

Public Function getVolume() As Double

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 90/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Return length * breadth * height

End Function
End Class
Sub Main()
Dim Box1 As Box = New Box() ' Declare Box1 of type Box
Dim Box2 As Box = New Box() ' Declare Box2 of type Box
Dim volume As Double = 0.0 ' Store the volume of a box here

' box 1 specification

Box1.setLength(6.0)
Box1.setBreadth(7.0)
Box1.setHeight(5.0)

'box 2 specification
Box2.setLength(12.0)
Box2.setBreadth(13.0)
Box2.setHeight(10.0)

' volume of box 1

volume = Box1.getVolume()
Console.WriteLine("Volume of Box1 : {0}", volume)

'volume of box 2
volume = Box2.getVolume()
Console.WriteLine("Volume of Box2 : {0}", volume)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Volume of Box1 : 210

Volume of Box2 : 1560

Constructors and Destructors

A class constructor is a special member Sub of a class that is executed whenever we create new
objects of that class. A constructor has the name New and it does not have any return type.

Following program explains the concept of constructor −

 Live Demo

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 91/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Class Line
Private length As Double ' Length of a line
Public Sub New() 'constructor
Console.WriteLine("Object is being created")
End Sub

Public Sub setLength(ByVal len As Double)

length = len
End Sub

Public Function getLength() As Double

Return length
End Function
Shared Sub Main()
Dim line As Line = New Line()
'set line length
line.setLength(6.0)
Console.WriteLine("Length of line : {0}", line.getLength())
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Object is being created

Length of line : 6

A default constructor does not have any parameter, but if you need, a constructor can have
parameters. Such constructors are called parameterized constructors. This technique helps you
to assign initial value to an object at the time of its creation as shown in the following example −

 Live Demo
Class Line
Private length As Double ' Length of a line
Public Sub New(ByVal len As Double) 'parameterised constructor
Console.WriteLine("Object is being created, length = {0}", len)
length = len
End Sub
Public Sub setLength(ByVal len As Double)
length = len
End Sub

Public Function getLength() As Double

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 92/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
Public Function getLength() As Double
Return length
End Function
Shared Sub Main()
Dim line As Line = New Line(10.0)
Console.WriteLine("Length of line set by constructor : {0}", line.getLength())
'set line length
line.setLength(6.0)
Console.WriteLine("Length of line set by setLength : {0}", line.getLength())
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Object is being created, length = 10

Length of line set by constructor : 10
Length of line set by setLength : 6

A destructor is a special member Sub of a class that is executed whenever an object of its class
goes out of scope.

A destructor has the name Finalize and it can neither return a value nor can it take any
parameters. Destructor can be very useful for releasing resources before coming out of the program
like closing files, releasing memories, etc.

Destructors cannot be inherited or overloaded.

Following example explains the concept of destructor −

 Live Demo
Class Line
Private length As Double ' Length of a line
Public Sub New() 'parameterised constructor
Console.WriteLine("Object is being created")
End Sub

Protected Overrides Sub Finalize() ' destructor

Console.WriteLine("Object is being deleted")
End Sub

Public Sub setLength(ByVal len As Double)

length = len

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 93/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

End Sub

Public Function getLength() As Double

Return length
End Function

Shared Sub Main()

Dim line As Line = New Line()
'set line length
line.setLength(6.0)
Console.WriteLine("Length of line : {0}", line.getLength())
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Object is being created

Length of line : 6
Object is being deleted

Shared Members of a VB.Net Class

We can define class members as static using the Shared keyword. When we declare a member of a
class as Shared, it means no matter how many objects of the class are created, there is only one
copy of the member.

The keyword Shared implies that only one instance of the member exists for a class. Shared
variables are used for defining constants because their values can be retrieved by invoking the class
without creating an instance of it.

Shared variables can be initialized outside the member function or class definition. You can also
initialize Shared variables inside the class definition.

You can also declare a member function as Shared. Such functions can access only Shared
variables. The Shared functions exist even before the object is created.

The following example demonstrates the use of shared members −

 Live Demo
Class StaticVar
Public Shared num As Integer
Public Sub count()
num = num + 1

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 94/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

End Sub
Public Shared Function getNum() As Integer
Return num
End Function
Shared Sub Main()
Dim s As StaticVar = New StaticVar()
s.count()
s.count()
s.count()
Console.WriteLine("Value of variable num: {0}", StaticVar.getNum())
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Value of variable num: 3

Inheritance
One of the most important concepts in object-oriented programming is that of inheritance.
Inheritance allows us to define a class in terms of another class which makes it easier to create and
maintain an application. This also provides an opportunity to reuse the code functionality and fast
implementation time.

When creating a class, instead of writing completely new data members and member functions, the
programmer can designate that the new class should inherit the members of an existing class. This
existing class is called the base class, and the new class is referred to as the derived class.

Base & Derived Classes

A class can be derived from more than one class or interface, which means that it can inherit data
and functions from multiple base classes or interfaces.

The syntax used in VB.Net for creating derived classes is as follows −

<access-specifier> Class <base_class>

...
End Class
Class <derived_class>: Inherits <base_class>
...
End Class

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 95/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Consider a base class Shape and its derived class Rectangle −

 Live Demo
' Base class
Class Shape
Protected width As Integer
Protected height As Integer
Public Sub setWidth(ByVal w As Integer)
width = w
End Sub
Public Sub setHeight(ByVal h As Integer)
height = h
End Sub
End Class
' Derived class
Class Rectangle : Inherits Shape
Public Function getArea() As Integer
Return (width * height)
End Function
End Class
Class RectangleTester
Shared Sub Main()
Dim rect As Rectangle = New Rectangle()
rect.setWidth(5)
rect.setHeight(7)
' Print the area of the object.
Console.WriteLine("Total area: {0}", rect.getArea())
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Total area: 35

Base Class Initialization

The derived class inherits the base class member variables and member methods. Therefore, the
super class object should be created before the subclass is created. The super class or the base
class is implicitly known as MyBase in VB.Net

The following program demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 96/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

' Base class

Class Rectangle
Protected width As Double
Protected length As Double
Public Sub New(ByVal l As Double, ByVal w As Double)
length = l
width = w
End Sub
Public Function GetArea() As Double
Return (width * length)
End Function
Public Overridable Sub Display()
Console.WriteLine("Length: {0}", length)
Console.WriteLine("Width: {0}", width)
Console.WriteLine("Area: {0}", GetArea())
End Sub
'end class Rectangle
End Class

'Derived class
Class Tabletop : Inherits Rectangle
Private cost As Double
Public Sub New(ByVal l As Double, ByVal w As Double)
MyBase.New(l, w)
End Sub
Public Function GetCost() As Double
Dim cost As Double
cost = GetArea() * 70
Return cost
End Function
Public Overrides Sub Display()
MyBase.Display()
Console.WriteLine("Cost: {0}", GetCost())
End Sub
'end class Tabletop
End Class
Class RectangleTester
Shared Sub Main()
Dim t As Tabletop = New Tabletop(4.5, 7.5)
t.Display()
Console.ReadKey()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 97/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

End Sub
End Class

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Length: 4.5
Width: 7.5
Area: 33.75
Cost: 2362.5

VB.Net supports multiple inheritance.

VB.Net - Exception Handling

An exception is a problem that arises during the execution of a program. An exception is a response
to an exceptional circumstance that arises while a program is running, such as an attempt to divide
by zero.

Exceptions provide a way to transfer control from one part of a program to another. VB.Net
exception handling is built upon four keywords - Try, Catch, Finally and Throw.

Try − A Try block identifies a block of code for which particular exceptions will be activated. It's
followed by one or more Catch blocks.

Catch − A program catches an exception with an exception handler at the place in a program
where you want to handle the problem. The Catch keyword indicates the catching of an
exception.
Finally − The Finally block is used to execute a given set of statements, whether an exception
is thrown or not thrown. For example, if you open a file, it must be closed whether an exception
is raised or not.

Throw − A program throws an exception when a problem shows up. This is done using a
Throw keyword.

Syntax
Assuming a block will raise an exception, a method catches an exception using a combination of the
Try and Catch keywords. A Try/Catch block is placed around the code that might generate an
exception. Code within a Try/Catch block is referred to as protected code, and the syntax for using
Try/Catch looks like the following −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 98/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Try
[ tryStatements ]
[ Exit Try ]
[ Catch [ exception [ As type ] ] [ When expression ]
[ catchStatements ]
[ Exit Try ] ]
[ Catch ... ]
[ Finally
[ finallyStatements ] ]
End Try

You can list down multiple catch statements to catch different type of exceptions in case your try
block raises more than one exception in different situations.

Exception Classes in .Net Framework

In the .Net Framework, exceptions are represented by classes. The exception classes in .Net
Framework are mainly directly or indirectly derived from the System.Exception class. Some of the
exception classes derived from the System.Exception class are the System.ApplicationException
and System.SystemException classes.

The System.ApplicationException class supports exceptions generated by application programs.

So the exceptions defined by the programmers should derive from this class.

The System.SystemException class is the base class for all predefined system exception.

The following table provides some of the predefined exception classes derived from the
Sytem.SystemException class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 99/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Exception Class Description

System.IO.IOException Handles I/O errors.

System.IndexOutOfRangeException Handles errors generated when a method refers to an array

index out of range.

System.ArrayTypeMismatchException Handles errors generated when type is mismatched with the

array type.

System.NullReferenceException Handles errors generated from deferencing a null object.

System.DivideByZeroException Handles errors generated from dividing a dividend with zero.

System.InvalidCastException Handles errors generated during typecasting.

System.OutOfMemoryException Handles errors generated from insufficient free memory.

System.StackOverflowException Handles errors generated from stack overflow.

Handling Exceptions
VB.Net provides a structured solution to the exception handling problems in the form of try and
catch blocks. Using these blocks the core program statements are separated from the error-
handling statements.

These error handling blocks are implemented using the Try, Catch and Finally keywords. Following
is an example of throwing an exception when dividing by zero condition occurs −

 Live Demo
Module exceptionProg
Sub division(ByVal num1 As Integer, ByVal num2 As Integer)
Dim result As Integer
Try
result = num1 \ num2
Catch e As DivideByZeroException
Console.WriteLine("Exception caught: {0}", e)
Finally
Console.WriteLine("Result: {0}", result)
End Try
End Sub
Sub Main()
division(25, 0)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 100/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Exception caught: System.DivideByZeroException: Attempted to divide by zero.

at ...
Result: 0

Creating User-Defined Exceptions

You can also define your own exception. User-defined exception classes are derived from the
ApplicationException class. The following example demonstrates this −

 Live Demo
Module exceptionProg
Public Class TempIsZeroException : Inherits ApplicationException
Public Sub New(ByVal message As String)
MyBase.New(message)
End Sub
End Class
Public Class Temperature
Dim temperature As Integer = 0
Sub showTemp()
If (temperature = 0) Then
Throw (New TempIsZeroException("Zero Temperature found"))
Else
Console.WriteLine("Temperature: {0}", temperature)
End If
End Sub
End Class
Sub Main()
Dim temp As Temperature = New Temperature()
Try
temp.showTemp()
Catch e As TempIsZeroException
Console.WriteLine("TempIsZeroException: {0}", e.Message)
End Try
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

TempIsZeroException: Zero Temperature found

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 101/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Throwing Objects
You can throw an object if it is either directly or indirectly derived from the System.Exception class.

You can use a throw statement in the catch block to throw the present object as −

Throw [ expression ]

The following program demonstrates this −

Module exceptionProg
Sub Main()
Try
Throw New ApplicationException("A custom exception _ is being thrown here..
Catch e As Exception
Console.WriteLine(e.Message)
Finally
Console.WriteLine("Now inside the Finally Block")
End Try
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

A custom exception is being thrown here...

Now inside the Finally Block

VB.Net - File Handling

A file is a collection of data stored in a disk with a specific name and a directory path. When a file is
opened for reading or writing, it becomes a stream.

The stream is basically the sequence of bytes passing through the communication path. There are
two main streams: the input stream and the output stream. The input stream is used for reading
data from file (read operation) and the output stream is used for writing into the file (write
operation).

VB.Net I/O Classes

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 102/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

The System.IO namespace has various classes that are used for performing various operations with
files, like creating and deleting files, reading from or writing to a file, closing a file, etc.

The following table shows some commonly used non-abstract classes in the System.IO namespace
−

I/O Class Description

BinaryReader Reads primitive data from a binary stream.

BinaryWriter Writes primitive data in binary format.

BufferedStream A temporary storage for a stream of bytes.

Directory Helps in manipulating a directory structure.

DirectoryInfo Used for performing operations on directories.

DriveInfo Provides information for the drives.

File Helps in manipulating files.

FileInfo Used for performing operations on files.

FileStream Used to read from and write to any location in a file.

MemoryStream Used for random access of streamed data stored in memory.

Path Performs operations on path information.

StreamReader Used for reading characters from a byte stream.

StreamWriter Is used for writing characters to a stream.

StringReader Is used for reading from a string buffer.

StringWriter Is used for writing into a string buffer.

The FileStream Class

The FileStream class in the System.IO namespace helps in reading from, writing to and closing
files. This class derives from the abstract class Stream.

You need to create a FileStream object to create a new file or open an existing file. The syntax for
creating a FileStream object is as follows −

Dim <object_name> As FileStream = New FileStream(<file_name>, <FileMode Enumerator>,

<FileAccess Enumerator>, <FileShare Enumerator>)

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 103/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

For example, for creating a FileStream object F for reading a file named sample.txt −

Dim f1 As FileStream = New FileStream("sample.txt", FileMode.OpenOrCreate,

FileAccess.ReadWrite)

Parameter Description

FileMode
The FileMode enumerator defines various methods for opening files. The
members of the FileMode enumerator are −

Append − It opens an existing file and puts cursor at the end of file, or
creates the file, if the file does not exist.

Create − It creates a new file.

CreateNew − It specifies to the operating system that it should create a

new file.

Open − It opens an existing file.

OpenOrCreate − It specifies to the operating system that it should open

a file if it exists, otherwise it should create a new file.

Truncate − It opens an existing file and truncates its size to zero bytes.

FileAccess
FileAccess enumerators have members: Read, ReadWrite and Write.

FileShare
FileShare enumerators have the following members −

Inheritable − It allows a file handle to pass inheritance to the child

processes

None − It declines sharing of the current file

Read − It allows opening the file for reading

ReadWrite − It allows opening the file for reading and writing

Write − It allows opening the file for writing

Example
The following program demonstrates use of the FileStream class −

 Live Demo
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 104/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Imports System.IO
Module fileProg
Sub Main()
Dim f1 As FileStream = New FileStream("sample.txt", _ FileMode.OpenOrCreate, Fi
Dim i As Integer

For i = 0 To 20
f1.WriteByte(CByte(i))
Next i
f1.Position = 0

For i = 0 To 20
Console.Write("{0} ", f1.ReadByte())
Next i
f1.Close()
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 -1

Advanced File Operations in VB.Net

The preceding example provides simple file operations in VB.Net. However, to utilize the immense
powers of System.IO classes, you need to know the commonly used properties and methods of
these classes.

We will discuss these classes and the operations they perform in the following sections. Please click
the links provided to get to the individual sections −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 105/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Topic and Description

1
Reading from and Writing into Text files

It involves reading from and writing into text files. The StreamReader and StreamWriter
classes help to accomplish it.

2
Reading from and Writing into Binary files

It involves reading from and writing into binary files. The BinaryReader and
BinaryWriter classes help to accomplish this.

3
Manipulating the Windows file system

It gives a VB.Net programmer the ability to browse and locate Windows files and
directories.

VB.Net - Basic Controls

An object is a type of user interface element you create on a Visual Basic form by using a toolbox
control. In fact, in Visual Basic, the form itself is an object. Every Visual Basic control consists of
three important elements −

Properties which describe the object,

Methods cause an object to do something and

Events are what happens when an object does something.

Control Properties
All the Visual Basic Objects can be moved, resized or customized by setting their properties. A
property is a value or characteristic held by a Visual Basic object, such as Caption or Fore Color.

Properties can be set at design time by using the Properties window or at run time by using
statements in the program code.

Object. Property = Value

Where

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 106/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Object is the name of the object you're customizing.

Property is the characteristic you want to change.

Value is the new property setting.

For example,

Form1.Caption = "Hello"

You can set any of the form properties using Properties Window. Most of the properties can be set
or read during application execution. You can refer to Microsoft documentation for a complete list of
properties associated with different controls and restrictions applied to them.

Control Methods
A method is a procedure created as a member of a class and they cause an object to do something.
Methods are used to access or manipulate the characteristics of an object or a variable. There are
mainly two categories of methods you will use in your classes −

If you are using a control such as one of those provided by the Toolbox, you can call any of its
public methods. The requirements of such a method depend on the class being used.

If none of the existing methods can perform your desired task, you can add a method to a
class.

For example, the MessageBox control has a method named Show, which is called in the code
snippet below −

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventAr
Handles Button1.Click
MessageBox.Show("Hello, World")
End Sub
End Class

Control Events
An event is a signal that informs an application that something important has occurred. For example,
when a user clicks a control on a form, the form can raise a Click event and call a procedure that

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 107/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

handles the event. There are various types of events associated with a Form like click, double click,
close, load, resize, etc.

Following is the default structure of a form Load event handler subroutine. You can see this code by
double clicking the code which will give you a complete list of the all events associated with Form
control −

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

'event handler code goes here
End Sub

Here, Handles MyBase.Load indicates that Form1_Load() subroutine handles Load event. Similar
way, you can check stub code for click, double click. If you want to initialize some variables like
properties, etc., then you will keep such code inside Form1_Load() subroutine. Here, important point
to note is the name of the event handler, which is by default Form1_Load, but you can change this
name based on your naming convention you use in your application programming.

Basic Controls
VB.Net provides a huge variety of controls that help you to create rich user interface. Functionalities
of all these controls are defined in the respective control classes. The control classes are defined in
the System.Windows.Forms namespace.

The following table lists some of the commonly used controls −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 108/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Widget & Description

1
Forms

The container for all the controls that make up the user interface.

2
TextBox

It represents a Windows text box control.

3
Label

It represents a standard Windows label.

4
Button

It represents a Windows button control.

5
ListBox

It represents a Windows control to display a list of items.

6
ComboBox

It represents a Windows combo box control.

7
RadioButton

It enables the user to select a single option from a group of choices when paired with
other RadioButton controls.

8
CheckBox

It represents a Windows CheckBox.

9
PictureBox

It represents a Windows picture box control for displaying an image.

10
ProgressBar

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 109/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

It represents a Windows progress bar control.

11
ScrollBar

It Implements the basic functionality of a scroll bar control.

12
DateTimePicker

It represents a Windows control that allows the user to select a date and a time and to
display the date and time with a specified format.

13
TreeView

It displays a hierarchical collection of labeled items, each represented by a TreeNode.

14
ListView

It represents a Windows list view control, which displays a collection of items that can be
displayed using one of four different views.

VB.Net - Dialog Boxes

There are many built-in dialog boxes to be used in Windows forms for various tasks like opening
and saving files, printing a page, providing choices for colors, fonts, page setup, etc., to the user of
an application. These built-in dialog boxes reduce the developer's time and workload.

All of these dialog box control classes inherit from the CommonDialog class and override the
RunDialog() function of the base class to create the specific dialog box.

The RunDialog() function is automatically invoked when a user of a dialog box calls its ShowDialog()
function.

The ShowDialog method is used to display all the dialog box controls at run-time. It returns a value
of the type of DialogResult enumeration. The values of DialogResult enumeration are −

Abort − returns DialogResult.Abort value, when user clicks an Abort button.

Cancel − returns DialogResult.Cancel, when user clicks a Cancel button.

Ignore − returns DialogResult.Ignore, when user clicks an Ignore button.

No − returns DialogResult.No, when user clicks a No button.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 110/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

None − returns nothing and the dialog box continues running.

OK − returns DialogResult.OK, when user clicks an OK button

Retry − returns DialogResult.Retry , when user clicks an Retry button

Yes − returns DialogResult.Yes, when user clicks an Yes button

The following diagram shows the common dialog class inheritance −

All these above-mentioned classes have corresponding controls that could be added from the
Toolbox during design time. You can include relevant functionality of these classes to your
application, either by instantiating the class programmatically or by using relevant controls.

When you double click any of the dialog controls in the toolbox or drag the control onto the form, it
appears in the Component tray at the bottom of the Windows Forms Designer, they do not directly
show up on the form.

The following table lists the commonly used dialog box controls. Click the following links to check
their detail −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 111/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Control & Description

1
ColorDialog

It represents a common dialog box that displays available colors along with controls that
enable the user to define custom colors.

2
FontDialog

It prompts the user to choose a font from among those installed on the local computer
and lets the user select the font, font size, and color.

3
OpenFileDialog

It prompts the user to open a file and allows the user to select a file to open.

4
SaveFileDialog

It prompts the user to select a location for saving a file and allows the user to specify the
name of the file to save data.

5
PrintDialog

It lets the user to print documents by selecting a printer and choosing which sections of
the document to print from a Windows Forms application.

VB.Net - Advanced Form

In this chapter, let us study the following concepts −

Adding menus and sub menus in an application

Adding the cut, copy and paste functionalities in a form

Anchoring and docking controls in a form

Modal forms

Adding Menus and Sub Menus in an Application

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 112/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Traditionally, the Menu, MainMenu, ContextMenu, and MenuItem classes were used for adding
menus, sub-menus and context menus in a Windows application.

Now, the MenuStrip, the ToolStripMenuItem, ToolStripDropDown and

ToolStripDropDownMenu controls replace and add functionality to the Menu-related controls of
previous versions. However, the old control classes are retained for both backward compatibility and
future use.

Let us create a typical windows main menu bar and sub menus using the old version controls first
since these controls are still much used in old applications.

Following is an example, which shows how we create a menu bar with menu items: File, Edit, View
and Project. The File menu has the sub menus New, Open and Save.

Let's double click on the Form and put the following code in the opened window.

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
'defining the main menu bar
Dim mnuBar As New MainMenu()
'defining the menu items for the main menu bar
Dim myMenuItemFile As New MenuItem("&File")
Dim myMenuItemEdit As New MenuItem("&Edit")
Dim myMenuItemView As New MenuItem("&View")
Dim myMenuItemProject As New MenuItem("&Project")

'adding the menu items to the main menu bar

mnuBar.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemFile)
mnuBar.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemEdit)
mnuBar.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemView)
mnuBar.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemProject)

' defining some sub menus

Dim myMenuItemNew As New MenuItem("&New")
Dim myMenuItemOpen As New MenuItem("&Open")
Dim myMenuItemSave As New MenuItem("&Save")

'add sub menus to the File menu

myMenuItemFile.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemNew)
myMenuItemFile.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemOpen)
myMenuItemFile.MenuItems.Add(myMenuItemSave)

'add the main menu to the form

Me.Menu = mnuBar
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 113/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

' Set the caption bar text of the form.

Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio
tool bar, it will show the following window −

Windows Forms contain a rich set of classes for creating your own custom menus with modern
appearance, look and feel. The MenuStrip, ToolStripMenuItem, ContextMenuStrip controls are
used to create menu bars and context menus efficiently.

Click the following links to check their details −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 114/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Control & Description

1
MenuStrip

It provides a menu system for a form.

2
ToolStripMenuItem

It represents a selectable option displayed on a MenuStrip or ContextMenuStrip. The

ToolStripMenuItem control replaces and adds functionality to the MenuItem control of
previous versions.

3
ContextMenuStrip

It represents a shortcut menu.

Adding the Cut, Copy and Paste Functionalities in a Form

The methods exposed by the ClipBoard class are used for adding the cut, copy and paste
functionalities in an application. The ClipBoard class provides methods to place data on and retrieve
data from the system Clipboard.

It has the following commonly used methods −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 115/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Method Name & Description

1
Clear

Removes all data from the Clipboard.

2
ContainsData

Indicates whether there is data on the Clipboard that is in the specified format or can be
converted to that format.

3
ContainsImage

Indicates whether there is data on the Clipboard that is in the Bitmap format or can be
converted to that format.

4
ContainsText

Indicates whether there is data on the Clipboard in the Text or UnicodeText format,
depending on the operating system.

5
GetData

Retrieves data from the Clipboard in the specified format.

6
GetDataObject

Retrieves the data that is currently on the system Clipboard.

7
GetImage

Retrieves an image from the Clipboard.

8
GetText

Retrieves text data from the Clipboard in the Text or UnicodeText format, depending on
the operating system.

9
GetText(TextDataFormat)

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 116/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Retrieves text data from the Clipboard in the format indicated by the specified
TextDataFormat value.

10
SetData

Clears the Clipboard and then adds data in the specified format.

11
SetText(String)

Clears the Clipboard and then adds text data in the Text or UnicodeText format,
depending on the operating system.

Following is an example, which shows how we cut, copy and paste data using methods of the
Clipboard class. Take the following steps −

Add a rich text box control and three button controls on the form.

Change the text property of the buttons to Cut, Copy and Paste, respectively.

Double click on the buttons to add the following code in the code editor −

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _
Handles MyBase.Load
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button1.Click
Clipboard.SetDataObject(RichTextBox1.SelectedText)
RichTextBox1.SelectedText = ""
End Sub

Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button2.Click
Clipboard.SetDataObject(RichTextBox1.SelectedText)
End Sub

Private Sub Button3_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button3.Click
Dim iData As IDataObject

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 117/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

iData = Clipboard.GetDataObject()
If (iData.GetDataPresent(DataFormats.Text)) Then
RichTextBox1.SelectedText = iData.GetData(DataFormats.Text)
Else
RichTextBox1.SelectedText = " "
End If
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

Enter some text and check how the buttons work.

Anchoring and Docking Controls in a Form

Anchoring allows you to set an anchor position for a control to the edges of its container control, for
example, the form. The Anchor property of the Control class allows you to set values of this
property. The Anchor property gets or sets the edges of the container to which a control is bound
and determines how a control is resized with its parent.

When you anchor a control to a form, the control maintains its distance from the edges of the form
and its anchored position, when the form is resized.

You can set the Anchor property values of a control from the Properties window −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 118/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

For example, let us add a Button control on a form and set its anchor property to Bottom, Right. Run
this form to see the original position of the Button control with respect to the form.

Now, when you stretch the form, the distance between the Button and the bottom right corner of the
form remains same.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 119/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Docking of a control means docking it to one of the edges of its container. In docking, the control
fills certain area of the container completely.

The Dock property of the Control class does this. The Dock property gets or sets which control
borders are docked to its parent control and determines how a control is resized with its parent.

You can set the Dock property values of a control from the Properties window −

For example, let us add a Button control on a form and set its Dock property to Bottom. Run this
form to see the original position of the Button control with respect to the form.

Now, when you stretch the form, the Button resizes itself with the form.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 120/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Modal Forms
Modal Forms are those forms that need to be closed or hidden before you can continue working
with the rest of the application. All dialog boxes are modal forms. A MessageBox is also a modal
form.

You can call a modal form by two ways −

Calling the ShowDialog method

Calling the Show method

Let us take up an example in which we will create a modal form, a dialog box. Take the following
steps −

Add a form, Form1 to your application, and add two labels and a button control to Form1

Change the text properties of the first label and the button to 'Welcome to Tutorials Point' and
'Enter your Name', respectively. Keep the text properties of the second label as blank.

Add a new Windows Form, Form2, and add two buttons, one label, and a text box to Form2.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 121/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Change the text properties of the buttons to OK and Cancel, respectively. Change the text
properties of the label to 'Enter your name:'.

Set the FormBorderStyle property of Form2 to FixedDialog, for giving it a dialog box border.

Set the ControlBox property of Form2 to False.

Set the ShowInTaskbar property of Form2 to False.

Set the DialogResult property of the OK button to OK and the Cancel button to Cancel.

Add the following code snippets in the Form2_Load method of Form2 −

Private Sub Form2_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles MyBase.Load
AcceptButton = Button1
CancelButton = Button2
End Sub

Add the following code snippets in the Button1_Click method of Form1 −

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button1.Click
Dim frmSecond As Form2 = New Form2()

If frmSecond.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK Then

Label2.Text = frmSecond.TextBox1.Text
End If
End Sub

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 122/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Clicking on the 'Enter your Name' button displays the second form −

Clicking on the OK button takes the control and information back from the modal form to the
previous form −

VB.Net - Event Handling

Events are basically a user action like key press, clicks, mouse movements, etc., or some
occurrence like system generated notifications. Applications need to respond to events when they

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 123/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

occur.

Clicking on a button, or entering some text in a text box, or clicking on a menu item, all are
examples of events. An event is an action that calls a function or may cause another event. Event
handlers are functions that tell how to respond to an event.

VB.Net is an event-driven language. There are mainly two types of events −

Mouse events

Keyboard events

Handling Mouse Events

Mouse events occur with mouse movements in forms and controls. Following are the various mouse
events related with a Control class −

MouseDown − it occurs when a mouse button is pressed

MouseEnter − it occurs when the mouse pointer enters the control

MouseHover − it occurs when the mouse pointer hovers over the control

MouseLeave − it occurs when the mouse pointer leaves the control

MouseMove − it occurs when the mouse pointer moves over the control

MouseUp − it occurs when the mouse pointer is over the control and the mouse button is
released

MouseWheel − it occurs when the mouse wheel moves and the control has focus

The event handlers of the mouse events get an argument of type MouseEventArgs. The
MouseEventArgs object is used for handling mouse events. It has the following properties −

Buttons − indicates the mouse button pressed

Clicks − indicates the number of clicks

Delta − indicates the number of detents the mouse wheel rotated

X − indicates the x-coordinate of mouse click

Y − indicates the y-coordinate of mouse click

Example
Following is an example, which shows how to handle mouse events. Take the following steps −

Add three labels, three text boxes and a button control in the form.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 124/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Change the text properties of the labels to - Customer ID, Name and Address, respectively.

Change the name properties of the text boxes to txtID, txtName and txtAddress, respectively.

Change the text property of the button to 'Submit'.

Add the following code in the code editor window −

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspont.com"
End Sub

Private Sub txtID_MouseEnter(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)_

Handles txtID.MouseEnter
'code for handling mouse enter on ID textbox
txtID.BackColor = Color.CornflowerBlue
txtID.ForeColor = Color.White
End Sub

Private Sub txtID_MouseLeave(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles txtID.MouseLeave
'code for handling mouse leave on ID textbox
txtID.BackColor = Color.White
txtID.ForeColor = Color.Blue
End Sub

Private Sub txtName_MouseEnter(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles txtName.MouseEnter
'code for handling mouse enter on Name textbox
txtName.BackColor = Color.CornflowerBlue
txtName.ForeColor = Color.White
End Sub

Private Sub txtName_MouseLeave(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles txtName.MouseLeave
'code for handling mouse leave on Name textbox
txtName.BackColor = Color.White
txtName.ForeColor = Color.Blue
End Sub

Private Sub txtAddress_MouseEnter(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles txtAddress.MouseEnter
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 125/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

'code for handling mouse enter on Address textbox

txtAddress.BackColor = Color.CornflowerBlue
txtAddress.ForeColor = Color.White
End Sub

Private Sub txtAddress_MouseLeave(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles txtAddress.MouseLeave
'code for handling mouse leave on Address textbox
txtAddress.BackColor = Color.White
txtAddress.ForeColor = Color.Blue
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button1.Click
MsgBox("Thank you " & txtName.Text & ", for your kind cooperation")
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

Try to enter text in the text boxes and check the mouse events −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 126/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Handling Keyboard Events

Following are the various keyboard events related with a Control class −

KeyDown − occurs when a key is pressed down and the control has focus

KeyPress − occurs when a key is pressed and the control has focus

KeyUp − occurs when a key is released while the control has focus

The event handlers of the KeyDown and KeyUp events get an argument of type KeyEventArgs.
This object has the following properties −

Alt − it indicates whether the ALT key is pressed

Control − it indicates whether the CTRL key is pressed

Handled − it indicates whether the event is handled

KeyCode − stores the keyboard code for the event

KeyData − stores the keyboard data for the event

KeyValue − stores the keyboard value for the event

Modifiers − it indicates which modifier keys (Ctrl, Shift, and/or Alt) are pressed

Shift − it indicates if the Shift key is pressed

The event handlers of the KeyDown and KeyUp events get an argument of type KeyEventArgs.
This object has the following properties −

Handled − indicates if the KeyPress event is handled

KeyChar − stores the character corresponding to the key pressed

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 127/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Example
Let us continue with the previous example to show how to handle keyboard events. The code will
verify that the user enters some numbers for his customer ID and age.

Add a label with text Property as 'Age' and add a corresponding text box named txtAge.

Add the following codes for handling the KeyUP events of the text box txtID.

Private Sub txtID_KeyUP(sender As Object, e As KeyEventArgs) _

Handles txtID.KeyUp

If (Not Char.IsNumber(ChrW(e.KeyCode))) Then

MessageBox.Show("Enter numbers for your Customer ID")
txtID.Text = " "
End If
End Sub

Add the following codes for handling the KeyUP events of the text box txtID.

Private Sub txtAge_KeyUP(sender As Object, e As KeyEventArgs) _

Handles txtAge.KeyUp

If (Not Char.IsNumber(ChrW(e.keyCode))) Then

MessageBox.Show("Enter numbers for age")
txtAge.Text = " "
End If
End Sub

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 128/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

If you leave the text for age or ID as blank or enter some non-numeric data, it gives a warning
message box and clears the respective text −

VB.Net - Regular Expressions

A regular expression is a pattern that could be matched against an input text. The .Net framework
provides a regular expression engine that allows such matching. A pattern consists of one or more
character literals, operators, or constructs.

Constructs for Defining Regular Expressions

There are various categories of characters, operators, and constructs that lets you to define regular
expressions. Click the following links to find these constructs.

Character escapes

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 129/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Character classes

Anchors

Grouping constructs

Quantifiers
Backreference constructs

Alternation constructs

Substitutions

Miscellaneous constructs

The Regex Class

The Regex class is used for representing a regular expression.

The Regex class has the following commonly used methods −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 130/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Methods & Description

1
Public Function IsMatch (input As String) As Boolean

Indicates whether the regular expression specified in the Regex constructor finds a
match in a specified input string.

2
Public Function IsMatch (input As String, startat As Integer ) As Boolean

Indicates whether the regular expression specified in the Regex constructor finds a
match in the specified input string, beginning at the specified starting position in the
string.

3
Public Shared Function IsMatch (input As String, pattern As String ) As Boolean

Indicates whether the specified regular expression finds a match in the specified input
string.

4
Public Function Matches (input As String) As MatchCollection

Searches the specified input string for all occurrences of a regular expression.

5
Public Function Replace (input As String, replacement As String) As String

In a specified input string, replaces all strings that match a regular expression pattern
with a specified replacement string.

6
Public Function Split (input As String) As String()

Splits an input string into an array of substrings at the positions defined by a regular
expression pattern specified in the Regex constructor.

For the complete list of methods and properties, please consult Microsoft documentation.

Example 1
The following example matches words that start with 'S' −

 Live Demo
Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions
Module regexProg

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 131/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sub showMatch(ByVal text As String, ByVal expr As String)

Console.WriteLine("The Expression: " + expr)
Dim mc As MatchCollection = Regex.Matches(text, expr)
Dim m As Match

For Each m In mc
Console.WriteLine(m)
Next m
End Sub

Sub Main()
Dim str As String = "A Thousand Splendid Suns"
Console.WriteLine("Matching words that start with 'S': ")
showMatch(str, "\bS\S*")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Matching words that start with 'S':

The Expression: \bS\S*
Splendid
Suns

Example 2
The following example matches words that start with 'm' and ends with 'e' −

 Live Demo
Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions
Module regexProg
Sub showMatch(ByVal text As String, ByVal expr As String)
Console.WriteLine("The Expression: " + expr)
Dim mc As MatchCollection = Regex.Matches(text, expr)
Dim m As Match

For Each m In mc
Console.WriteLine(m)
Next m
End Sub

Sub Main()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 132/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Dim str As String = "make a maze and manage to measure it"

Console.WriteLine("Matching words that start with 'm' and ends with 'e': ")
showMatch(str, "\bm\S*e\b")
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Matching words start with 'm' and ends with 'e':

The Expression: \bm\S*e\b
make
maze
manage
measure

Example 3
This example replaces extra white space −

 Live Demo
Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions
Module regexProg
Sub Main()
Dim input As String = "Hello World "
Dim pattern As String = "\\s+"
Dim replacement As String = " "
Dim rgx As Regex = New Regex(pattern)
Dim result As String = rgx.Replace(input, replacement)

Console.WriteLine("Original String: {0}", input)

Console.WriteLine("Replacement String: {0}", result)
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Original String: Hello World

Replacement String: Hello World

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 133/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - Database Access

Applications communicate with a database, firstly, to retrieve the data stored there and present it in
a user-friendly way, and secondly, to update the database by inserting, modifying and deleting data.

Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects.Net (ADO.Net) is a model, a part of the .Net framework that is used
by the .Net applications for retrieving, accessing and updating data.

ADO.Net Object Model

ADO.Net object model is nothing but the structured process flow through various components. The
object model can be pictorially described as −

The data residing in a data store or database is retrieved through the data provider. Various
components of the data provider retrieve data for the application and update data.

An application accesses data either through a dataset or a data reader.

Datasets store data in a disconnected cache and the application retrieves data from it.

Data readers provide data to the application in a read-only and forward-only mode.

Data Provider
A data provider is used for connecting to a database, executing commands and retrieving data,
storing it in a dataset, reading the retrieved data and updating the database.

The data provider in ADO.Net consists of the following four objects −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 134/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Objects & Description

1
Connection

This component is used to set up a connection with a data source.

2
Command

A command is a SQL statement or a stored procedure used to retrieve, insert, delete or

modify data in a data source.

3
DataReader

Data reader is used to retrieve data from a data source in a read-only and forward-only
mode.

4
DataAdapter

This is integral to the working of ADO.Net since data is transferred to and from a
database through a data adapter. It retrieves data from a database into a dataset and
updates the database. When changes are made to the dataset, the changes in the
database are actually done by the data adapter.

There are following different types of data providers included in ADO.Net

The .Net Framework data provider for SQL Server - provides access to Microsoft SQL Server.

The .Net Framework data provider for OLE DB - provides access to data sources exposed by
using OLE DB.

The .Net Framework data provider for ODBC - provides access to data sources exposed by
ODBC.

The .Net Framework data provider for Oracle - provides access to Oracle data source.

The EntityClient provider - enables accessing data through Entity Data Model (EDM)
applications.

DataSet
DataSet is an in-memory representation of data. It is a disconnected, cached set of records that are
retrieved from a database. When a connection is established with the database, the data adapter
creates a dataset and stores data in it. After the data is retrieved and stored in a dataset, the
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 135/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

connection with the database is closed. This is called the 'disconnected architecture'. The dataset
works as a virtual database containing tables, rows, and columns.

The following diagram shows the dataset object model −

The DataSet class is present in the System.Data namespace. The following table describes all the
components of DataSet −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 136/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Components & Description

1
DataTableCollection

It contains all the tables retrieved from the data source.

2
DataRelationCollection

It contains relationships and the links between tables in a data set.

3
ExtendedProperties

It contains additional information, like the SQL statement for retrieving data, time of
retrieval, etc.

4
DataTable

It represents a table in the DataTableCollection of a dataset. It consists of the DataRow

and DataColumn objects. The DataTable objects are case-sensitive.

5
DataRelation

It represents a relationship in the DataRelationshipCollection of the dataset. It is used to

relate two DataTable objects to each other through the DataColumn objects.

6
DataRowCollection

It contains all the rows in a DataTable.

7
DataView

It represents a fixed customized view of a DataTable for sorting, filtering, searching,

editing and navigation.

8
PrimaryKey

It represents the column that uniquely identifies a row in a DataTable.

9
DataRow

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 137/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

It represents a row in the DataTable. The DataRow object and its properties and methods
are used to retrieve, evaluate, insert, delete, and update values in the DataTable. The
NewRow method is used to create a new row and the Add method adds a row to the
table.

10
DataColumnCollection

It represents all the columns in a DataTable.

11
DataColumn

It consists of the number of columns that comprise a DataTable.

Connecting to a Database
The .Net Framework provides two types of Connection classes −

SqlConnection − designed for connecting to Microsoft SQL Server.

OleDbConnection − designed for connecting to a wide range of databases, like Microsoft

Access and Oracle.

Example 1
We have a table stored in Microsoft SQL Server, named Customers, in a database named testDB.
Please consult 'SQL Server' tutorial for creating databases and database tables in SQL Server.

Let us connect to this database. Take the following steps −

Select TOOLS → Connect to Database

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 138/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Select a server name and the database name in the Add Connection dialog box.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 139/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Click on the Test Connection button to check if the connection succeeded.

Add a DataGridView on the form.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 140/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Click on the Choose Data Source combo box.

Click on the Add Project Data Source link.

This opens the Data Source Configuration Wizard.

Select Database as the data source type

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 141/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Choose DataSet as the database model.

Choose the connection already set up.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 142/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Save the connection string.

Choose the database object, Customers table in our example, and click the Finish button.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 143/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Select the Preview Data link to see the data in the Results grid −

When the application is run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio tool bar, it will
show the following window −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 144/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Example 2
In this example, let us access data in a DataGridView control using code. Take the following steps −

Add a DataGridView control and a button in the form.

Change the text of the button control to 'Fill'.

Double click the button control to add the required code for the Click event of the button, as
shown below −

Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _
Handles MyBase.Load
'TODO: This line of code loads data into the 'TestDBDataSet.CUSTOMERS' table.
You can move, or remove it, as needed.

Me.CUSTOMERSTableAdapter.Fill(Me.TestDBDataSet.CUSTOMERS)
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

Dim connection As SqlConnection = New sqlconnection()
connection.ConnectionString = "Data Source=KABIR-DESKTOP; _
Initial Catalog=testDB;Integrated Security=True"
connection.Open()
Dim adp As SqlDataAdapter = New SqlDataAdapter _
("select * from Customers", connection)
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 145/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Dim ds As DataSet = New DataSet()

adp.Fill(ds)
DataGridView1.DataSource = ds.Tables(0)
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

Clicking the Fill button displays the table on the data grid view control −

Creating Table, Columns and Rows

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 146/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

We have discussed that the DataSet components like DataTable, DataColumn and DataRow allow
us to create tables, columns and rows, respectively.

The following example demonstrates the concept −

Example 3
So far, we have used tables and databases already existing in our computer. In this example, we will
create a table, add columns, rows and data into it and display the table using a DataGridView
object.

Take the following steps −

Add a DataGridView control and a button in the form.

Change the text of the button control to 'Fill'.

Add the following code in the code editor.

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspont.com"
End Sub

Private Function CreateDataSet() As DataSet

'creating a DataSet object for tables
Dim dataset As DataSet = New DataSet()

' creating the student table

Dim Students As DataTable = CreateStudentTable()
dataset.Tables.Add(Students)
Return dataset
End Function

Private Function CreateStudentTable() As DataTable

Dim Students As DataTable
Students = New DataTable("Student")
' adding columns
AddNewColumn(Students, "System.Int32", "StudentID")
AddNewColumn(Students, "System.String", "StudentName")
AddNewColumn(Students, "System.String", "StudentCity")
' adding rows
AddNewRow(Students, 1, "Zara Ali", "Kolkata")
AddNewRow(Students, 2, "Shreya Sharma", "Delhi")
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 147/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

AddNewRow(Students, 3, "Rini Mukherjee", "Hyderabad")

AddNewRow(Students, 4, "Sunil Dubey", "Bikaner")
AddNewRow(Students, 5, "Rajat Mishra", "Patna")
Return Students
End Function

Private Sub AddNewColumn(ByRef table As DataTable, _

ByVal columnType As String, ByVal columnName As String)
Dim column As DataColumn = _
table.Columns.Add(columnName, Type.GetType(columnType))
End Sub

'adding data into the table

Private Sub AddNewRow(ByRef table As DataTable, ByRef id As Integer,_
ByRef name As String, ByRef city As String)
Dim newrow As DataRow = table.NewRow()
newrow("StudentID") = id
newrow("StudentName") = name
newrow("StudentCity") = city
table.Rows.Add(newrow)
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

Dim ds As New DataSet
ds = CreateDataSet()
DataGridView1.DataSource = ds.Tables("Student")

End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 148/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Clicking the Fill button displays the table on the data grid view control −

VB.Net - Excel Sheet

VB.Net provides support for interoperability between the COM object model of Microsoft Excel 2010
and your application.

To avail this interoperability in your application, you need to import the namespace
Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel in your Windows Form Application.

Creating an Excel Application from VB.Net

Let's start with creating a Window Forms Application by following the following steps in Microsoft
Visual Studio: File → New Project → Windows Forms Applications

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 149/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Finally, select OK, Microsoft Visual Studio creates your project and displays following Form1.

Insert a Button control Button1 in the form.

Add a reference to Microsoft Excel Object Library to your project. To do this −

Select Add Reference from the Project Menu.

On the COM tab, locate Microsoft Excel Object Library and then click Select.

Click OK.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 150/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Double click the code window and populate the Click event of Button1, as shown below.

' Add the following code snippet on top of Form1.vb

Imports Excel = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim appXL As Excel.Application
Dim wbXl As Excel.Workbook
Dim shXL As Excel.Worksheet
Dim raXL As Excel.Range

' Start Excel and get Application object.

appXL = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
appXL.Visible = True

' Add a new workbook.

wbXl = appXL.Workbooks.Add
shXL = wbXl.ActiveSheet

' Add table headers going cell by cell.

shXL.Cells(1, 1).Value = "First Name"
shXL.Cells(1, 2).Value = "Last Name"
shXL.Cells(1, 3).Value = "Full Name"
shXL.Cells(1, 4).Value = "Specialization"

' Format A1:D1 as bold, vertical alignment = center.

With shXL.Range("A1", "D1")
.Font.Bold = True
.VerticalAlignment = Excel.XlVAlign.xlVAlignCenter
End With

' Create an array to set multiple values at once.

Dim students(5, 2) As String
students(0, 0) = "Zara"
students(0, 1) = "Ali"
students(1, 0) = "Nuha"
students(1, 1) = "Ali"
students(2, 0) = "Arilia"
students(2, 1) = "RamKumar"
students(3, 0) = "Rita"
students(3, 1) = "Jones"
students(4, 0) = "Umme"

students(4 1) = "Ayman"
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 151/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide
students(4, 1) = Ayman

' Fill A2:B6 with an array of values (First and Last Names).
shXL.Range("A2", "B6").Value = students

' Fill C2:C6 with a relative formula (=A2 & " " & B2).
raXL = shXL.Range("C2", "C6")
raXL.Formula = "=A2 & "" "" & B2"

' Fill D2:D6 values.

With shXL
.Cells(2, 4).Value = "Biology"
.Cells(3, 4).Value = "Mathmematics"
.Cells(4, 4).Value = "Physics"
.Cells(5, 4).Value = "Mathmematics"
.Cells(6, 4).Value = "Arabic"
End With

' AutoFit columns A:D.

raXL = shXL.Range("A1", "D1")
raXL.EntireColumn.AutoFit()

' Make sure Excel is visible and give the user control
' of Excel's lifetime.
appXL.Visible = True
appXL.UserControl = True

' Release object references.

raXL = Nothing
shXL = Nothing
wbXl = Nothing
appXL.Quit()
appXL = Nothing
Exit Sub
Err_Handler:
MsgBox(Err.Description, vbCritical, "Error: " & Err.Number)
End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 152/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Clicking on the Button would display the following excel sheet. You will be asked to save the
workbook.

VB.Net - Send Email

VB.Net allows sending e-mails from your application. The System.Net.Mail namespace contains
classes used for sending e-mails to a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server for delivery.

The following table lists some of these commonly used classes −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 153/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Class & Description

1
Attachment

Represents an attachment to an e-mail.

2
AttachmentCollection

Stores attachments to be sent as part of an e-mail message.

3
MailAddress

Represents the address of an electronic mail sender or recipient.

4
MailAddressCollection

Stores e-mail addresses that are associated with an e-mail message.

5
MailMessage

Represents an e-mail message that can be sent using the SmtpClient class.

6
SmtpClient

Allows applications to send e-mail by using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

7
SmtpException

Represents the exception that is thrown when the SmtpClient is not able to complete a
Send or SendAsync operation.

The SmtpClient Class

The SmtpClient class allows applications to send e-mail by using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP).

Following are some commonly used properties of the SmtpClient class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 154/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Property & Description

1
ClientCertificates

Specifies which certificates should be used to establish the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
connection.

2
Credentials

Gets or sets the credentials used to authenticate the sender.

3
EnableSsl

Specifies whether the SmtpClient uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt the
connection.

4
Host

Gets or sets the name or IP address of the host used for SMTP transactions.

5
Port

Gets or sets the port used for SMTP transactions.

6
Timeout

Gets or sets a value that specifies the amount of time after which a synchronous Send
call times out.

7
UseDefaultCredentials

Gets or sets a Boolean value that controls whether the DefaultCredentials are sent with
requests.

Following are some commonly used methods of the SmtpClient class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 155/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Method & Description

1
Dispose

Sends a QUIT message to the SMTP server, gracefully ends the TCP connection, and
releases all resources used by the current instance of the SmtpClient class.

2
Dispose(Boolean)

Sends a QUIT message to the SMTP server, gracefully ends the TCP connection,
releases all resources used by the current instance of the SmtpClient class, and
optionally disposes of the managed resources.

3
OnSendCompleted

Raises the SendCompleted event.

4
Send(MailMessage)

Sends the specified message to an SMTP server for delivery.

5
Send(String, String, String, String)

Sends the specified e-mail message to an SMTP server for delivery. The message
sender, recipients, subject, and message body are specified using String objects.

6
SendAsync(MailMessage, Object)

Sends the specified e-mail message to an SMTP server for delivery. This method does
not block the calling thread and allows the caller to pass an object to the method that is
invoked when the operation completes.

7
SendAsync(String, String, String, String, Object)

Sends an e-mail message to an SMTP server for delivery. The message sender,
recipients, subject, and message body are specified using String objects. This method
does not block the calling thread and allows the caller to pass an object to the method
that is invoked when the operation completes.

8
SendAsyncCancel
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 156/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Cancels an asynchronous operation to send an e-mail message.

9
SendMailAsync(MailMessage)

Sends the specified message to an SMTP server for delivery as an asynchronous

operation.

10
SendMailAsync(String, String, String, String)

Sends the specified message to an SMTP server for delivery as an asynchronous

operation. . The message sender, recipients, subject, and message body are specified
using String objects.

11
ToString

Returns a string that represents the current object.

The following example demonstrates how to send mail using the SmtpClient class. Following points
are to be noted in this respect −

You must specify the SMTP host server that you use to send e-mail. The Host and Port
properties will be different for different host server. We will be using gmail server.
You need to give the Credentials for authentication, if required by the SMTP server.

You should also provide the email address of the sender and the e-mail address or addresses
of the recipients using the MailMessage.From and MailMessage.To properties, respectively.
You should also specify the message content using the MailMessage.Body property.

Example
In this example, let us create a simple application that would send an e-mail. Take the following
steps −

Add three labels, three text boxes and a button control in the form.

Change the text properties of the labels to - 'From', 'To:' and 'Message:' respectively.

Change the name properties of the texts to txtFrom, txtTo and txtMessage respectively.
Change the text property of the button control to 'Send'

Add the following code in the code editor.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 157/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Imports System.Net.Mail
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

Try
Dim Smtp_Server As New SmtpClient
Dim e_mail As New MailMessage()
Smtp_Server.UseDefaultCredentials = False
Smtp_Server.Credentials = New Net.NetworkCredential("[email protected]", "p
Smtp_Server.Port = 587
Smtp_Server.EnableSsl = True
Smtp_Server.Host = "smtp.gmail.com"

e_mail = New MailMessage()

e_mail.From = New MailAddress(txtFrom.Text)
e_mail.To.Add(txtTo.Text)
e_mail.Subject = "Email Sending"
e_mail.IsBodyHtml = False
e_mail.Body = txtMessage.Text
Smtp_Server.Send(e_mail)
MsgBox("Mail Sent")

Catch error_t As Exception

MsgBox(error_t.ToString)
End Try
End Sub

You must provide your gmail address and real password for credentials.

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, it will show the following window, which you will use to send your e-mails, try it
yourself.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 158/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - XML Processing

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language much like HTML or SGML. This is
recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium and available as an open standard.

The System.Xml namespace in the .Net Framework contains classes for processing XML
documents. Following are some of the commonly used classes in the System.Xml namespace.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 159/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Class & Description

1
XmlAttribute

Represents an attribute. Valid and default values for the attribute are defined in a
document type definition (DTD) or schema.

2
XmlCDataSection

Represents a CDATA section.

3
XmlCharacterData

Provides text manipulation methods that are used by several classes.

4
XmlComment

Represents the content of an XML comment.

5
XmlConvert

Encodes and decodes XML names and provides methods for converting between
common language runtime types and XML Schema definition language (XSD) types.
When converting data types, the values returned are locale independent.

6
XmlDeclaration

Represents the XML declaration node <?xml version='1.0'...?>.

7
XmlDictionary

Implements a dictionary used to optimize Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)'s

XML reader/writer implementations.

8
XmlDictionaryReader

An abstract class that the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) derives from
XmlReader to do serialization and deserialization.

9
XmlDictionaryWriter
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 160/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Represents an abstract class that Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) derives

from XmlWriter to do serialization and deserialization.

10
XmlDocument

Represents an XML document.

11
XmlDocumentFragment

Represents a lightweight object that is useful for tree insert operations.

12
XmlDocumentType

Represents the document type declaration.

13
XmlElement

Represents an element.

14
XmlEntity

Represents an entity declaration, such as <!ENTITY... >.

15
XmlEntityReference

Represents an entity reference node.

16
XmlException

Returns detailed information about the last exception.

17
XmlImplementation

Defines the context for a set of XmlDocument objects.

18
XmlLinkedNode

Gets the node immediately preceding or following this node.

19
XmlNode

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 161/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Represents a single node in the XML document.

20
XmlNodeList

Represents an ordered collection of nodes.

21
XmlNodeReader

Represents a reader that provides fast, non-cached forward only access to XML data in
an XmlNode.

22
XmlNotation

Represents a notation declaration, such as <!NOTATION... >.

23
XmlParserContext

Provides all the context information required by the XmlReader to parse an XML
fragment.

24
XmlProcessingInstruction

Represents a processing instruction, which XML defines to keep processor-specific

information in the text of the document.

25
XmlQualifiedName

Represents an XML qualified name.

26
XmlReader

Represents a reader that provides fast, noncached, forward-only access to XML data.

27
XmlReaderSettings

Specifies a set of features to support on the XmlReader object created by the Create
method.

28
XmlResolver

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 162/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Resolves external XML resources named by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).

29
XmlSecureResolver

Helps to secure another implementation of XmlResolver by wrapping the XmlResolver

object and restricting the resources that the underlying XmlResolver has access to.

30
XmlSignificantWhitespace

Represents white space between markup in a mixed content node or white space within
an xml:space= 'preserve' scope. This is also referred to as significant white space.

31
XmlText

Represents the text content of an element or attribute.

32
XmlTextReader

Represents a reader that provides fast, non-cached, forward-only access to XML data.

33
XmlTextWriter

Represents a writer that provides a fast, non-cached, forward-only way of generating

streams or files containing XML data that conforms to the W3C Extensible Markup
Language (XML) 1.0 and the Namespaces in XML recommendations.

34
XmlUrlResolver

Resolves external XML resources named by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).

35
XmlWhitespace

Represents white space in element content.

36
XmlWriter

Represents a writer that provides a fast, non-cached, forward-only means of generating

streams or files containing XML data.

37
XmlWriterSettings
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 163/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Specifies a set of features to support on the XmlWriter object created by the

XmlWriter.Create method.

XML Parser APIs

The two most basic and broadly used APIs to XML data are the SAX and DOM interfaces.

Simple API for XML (SAX) − Here, you register callbacks for events of interest and then let the
parser proceed through the document. This is useful when your documents are large or you
have memory limitations, it parses the file as it reads it from disk, and the entire file is never
stored in memory.

Document Object Model (DOM) API − This is World Wide Web Consortium recommendation
wherein the entire file is read into memory and stored in a hierarchical (tree-based) form to
represent all the features of an XML document.

SAX obviously can't process information as fast as DOM can when working with large files. On the
other hand, using DOM exclusively can really kill your resources, especially if used on a lot of small
files.

SAX is read-only, while DOM allows changes to the XML file. Since these two different APIs literally
complement each other there is no reason why you can't use them both for large projects.

For all our XML code examples, let's use a simple XML file movies.xml as an input −

<?xml version = "1.0"?>

<collection shelf = "New Arrivals">

<movie title = "Enemy Behind">
<type>War, Thriller</type>
<format>DVD</format>
<year>2003</year>
<rating>PG</rating>
<stars>10</stars>
<description>Talk about a US-Japan war</description>
</movie>

<movie title = "Transformers">

<type>Anime, Science Fiction</type>
<format>DVD</format>
<year>1989</year>
<rating>R</rating>
<stars>8</stars>
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 164/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

<description>A schientific fiction</description>

</movie>

<movie title = "Trigun">

<type>Anime, Action</type>
<format>DVD</format>
<episodes>4</episodes>
<rating>PG</rating>
<stars>10</stars>
<description>Vash the Stampede!</description>
</movie>

<movie title = "Ishtar">

<type>Comedy</type>
<format>VHS</format>
<rating>PG</rating>
<stars>2</stars>
<description>Viewable boredom</description>
</movie>
</collection>

Parsing XML with SAX API

In SAX model, you use the XmlReader and XmlWriter classes to work with the XML data.

The XmlReader class is used to read XML data in a fast, forward-only and non-cached manner. It
reads an XML document or a stream.

Example 1
This example demonstrates reading XML data from the file movies.xml.

Take the following steps −

Add the movies.xml file in the bin\Debug folder of your application.

Import the System.Xml namespace in Form1.vb file.

Add a label in the form and change its text to 'Movies Galore'.

Add three list boxes and three buttons to show the title, type and description of a movie from
the xml file.

Add the following code using the code editor window.

Imports System.Xml
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 165/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Public Class Form1

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

' Set the caption bar text of the form.

Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

ListBox1().Items.Clear()
Dim xr As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create("movies.xml")
Do While xr.Read()
If xr.NodeType = XmlNodeType.Element AndAlso xr.Name = "movie" Then
ListBox1.Items.Add(xr.GetAttribute(0))
End If
Loop
End Sub

Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click

ListBox2().Items.Clear()
Dim xr As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create("movies.xml")
Do While xr.Read()
If xr.NodeType = XmlNodeType.Element AndAlso xr.Name = "type" Then
ListBox2.Items.Add(xr.ReadElementString)
Else
xr.Read()
End If
Loop
End Sub

Private Sub Button3_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button3.Click

ListBox3().Items.Clear()
Dim xr As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create("movies.xml")
Do While xr.Read()
If xr.NodeType = XmlNodeType.Element AndAlso xr.Name = "description" Then
ListBox3.Items.Add(xr.ReadElementString)
Else
xr.Read()
End If
Loop
End Sub
End Class

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 166/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Execute and run the above code using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio tool bar.
Clicking on the buttons would display, title, type and description of the movies from the file.

The XmlWriter class is used to write XML data into a stream, a file or a TextWriter object. It also
works in a forward-only, non-cached manner.

Example 2
Let us create an XML file by adding some data at runtime. Take the following steps −

Add a WebBrowser control and a button control in the form.

Change the Text property of the button to Show Authors File.

Add the following code in the code editor.

Imports System.Xml
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim xws As XmlWriterSettings = New XmlWriterSettings()
xws.Indent = True
xws.NewLineOnAttributes = True
Dim xw As XmlWriter = XmlWriter.Create("authors.xml", xws)
xw.WriteStartDocument()
xw.WriteStartElement("Authors")
xw.WriteStartElement("author")
xw.WriteAttributeString("code", "1")
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 167/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

xw.WriteElementString("fname", "Zara")
xw.WriteElementString("lname", "Ali")
xw.WriteEndElement()
xw.WriteStartElement("author")
xw.WriteAttributeString("code", "2")
xw.WriteElementString("fname", "Priya")
xw.WriteElementString("lname", "Sharma")
xw.WriteEndElement()
xw.WriteStartElement("author")
xw.WriteAttributeString("code", "3")
xw.WriteElementString("fname", "Anshuman")
xw.WriteElementString("lname", "Mohan")
xw.WriteEndElement()
xw.WriteStartElement("author")
xw.WriteAttributeString("code", "4")
xw.WriteElementString("fname", "Bibhuti")

xw.WriteElementString("lname", "Banerjee")
xw.WriteEndElement()
xw.WriteStartElement("author")
xw.WriteAttributeString("code", "5")
xw.WriteElementString("fname", "Riyan")
xw.WriteElementString("lname", "Sengupta")
xw.WriteEndElement()
xw.WriteEndElement()
xw.WriteEndDocument()
xw.Flush()
xw.Close()
WebBrowser1.Url = New Uri(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory + "authors.xml"
End Sub
End Class

Execute and run the above code using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio tool
bar. Clicking on the Show Author File would display the newly created authors.xml file on the
web browser.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 168/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Parsing XML with DOM API

According to the Document Object Model (DOM), an XML document consists of nodes and
attributes of the nodes. The XmlDocument class is used to implement the XML DOM parser of the
.Net Framework. It also allows you to modify an existing XML document by inserting, deleting or
updating data in the document.

Following are some of the commonly used methods of the XmlDocument class −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 169/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Method Name & Description

1
AppendChild

Adds the specified node to the end of the list of child nodes, of this node.

2
CreateAttribute(String)

Creates an XmlAttribute with the specified Name.

3
CreateComment

Creates an XmlComment containing the specified data.

4
CreateDefaultAttribute

Creates a default attribute with the specified prefix, local name and namespace URI.

5
CreateElement(String)

Creates an element with the specified name.

6
CreateNode(String, String, String)

Creates an XmlNode with the specified node type, Name, and NamespaceURI.

7
CreateNode(XmlNodeType, String, String)

Creates an XmlNode with the specified XmlNodeType, Name, and NamespaceURI.

8
CreateNode(XmlNodeType, String, String, String)

Creates a XmlNode with the specified XmlNodeType, Prefix, Name, and

NamespaceURI.

9
CreateProcessingInstruction

Creates an XmlProcessingInstruction with the specified name and data.

10
CreateSignificantWhitespace

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 170/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Creates an XmlSignificantWhitespace node.

11
CreateTextNode

Creates an XmlText with the specified text.

12
CreateWhitespace

Creates an XmlWhitespace node.

13
CreateXmlDeclaration

Creates an XmlDeclaration node with the specified values.

14
GetElementById

Gets the XmlElement with the specified ID.

15
GetElementsByTagName(String)

Returns an XmlNodeList containing a list of all descendant elements that match the
specified Name.

16
GetElementsByTagName(String, String)

Returns an XmlNodeList containing a list of all descendant elements that match the
specified LocalName and NamespaceURI.

17
InsertAfter

Inserts the specified node immediately after the specified reference node.

18
InsertBefore

Inserts the specified node immediately before the specified reference node.

19
Load(Stream)

Loads the XML document from the specified stream.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 171/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

20 Load(String)

Loads the XML document from the specified URL.

21
Load(TextReader)

Loads the XML document from the specified TextReader.

22
Load(XmlReader)

Loads the XML document from the specified XmlReader.

23
LoadXml

Loads the XML document from the specified string.

24
PrependChild

Adds the specified node to the beginning of the list of child nodes for this node.

25
ReadNode

Creates an XmlNode object based on the information in the XmlReader. The reader
must be positioned on a node or attribute.

26
RemoveAll

Removes all the child nodes and/or attributes of the current node.

27
RemoveChild

Removes specified child node.

28
ReplaceChild

Replaces the child node oldChild with newChild node.

29
Save(Stream)

Saves the XML document to the specified stream.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 172/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

30 Save(String)

Saves the XML document to the specified file.

31
Save(TextWriter)

Saves the XML document to the specified TextWriter.

32
Save(XmlWriter)

Saves the XML document to the specified XmlWriter.

Example 3
In this example, let us insert some new nodes in the xml document authors.xml and then show all
the authors' first names in a list box.

Take the following steps −

Add the authors.xml file in the bin/Debug folder of your application( it should be there if you
have tried the last example)

Import the System.Xml namespace

Add a list box and a button control in the form and set the text property of the button control to
Show Authors.

Add the following code using the code editor.

Imports System.Xml
Public Class Form1
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
' Set the caption bar text of the form.
Me.Text = "tutorialspoint.com"
End Sub

Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

ListBox1.Items.Clear()

Dim xd As XmlDocument = New XmlDocument()

xd.Load("authors.xml")

Dim newAuthor As XmlElement = xd.CreateElement("author")

newAuthor.SetAttribute("code", "6")
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 173/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Dim fn As XmlElement = xd.CreateElement("fname")

fn.InnerText = "Bikram"
newAuthor.AppendChild(fn)

Dim ln As XmlElement = xd.CreateElement("lname")

ln.InnerText = "Seth"
newAuthor.AppendChild(ln)
xd.DocumentElement.AppendChild(newAuthor)

Dim tr As XmlTextWriter = New XmlTextWriter("movies.xml", Nothing)

tr.Formatting = Formatting.Indented
xd.WriteContentTo(tr)
tr.Close()

Dim nl As XmlNodeList = xd.GetElementsByTagName("fname")

For Each node As XmlNode In nl

ListBox1.Items.Add(node.InnerText)
Next node
End Sub
End Class

Execute and run the above code using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio tool
bar. Clicking on the Show Author button would display the first names of all the authors
including the one we have added at runtime.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 174/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

VB.Net - Web Programming

A dynamic web application consists of either or both of the following two types of programs −

Server-side scripting − these are programs executed on a web server, written using server-
side scripting languages like ASP (Active Server Pages) or JSP (Java Server Pages).

Client-side scripting − these are programs executed on the browser, written using scripting
languages like JavaScript, VBScript, etc.

ASP.Net is the .Net version of ASP, introduced by Microsoft, for creating dynamic web pages by
using server-side scripts. ASP.Net applications are compiled codes written using the extensible and
reusable components or objects present in .Net framework. These codes can use the entire
hierarchy of classes in .Net framework.

The ASP.Net application codes could be written in either of the following languages −

Visual Basic .Net

C#

Jscript

J#

In this chapter, we will give a very brief introduction to writing ASP.Net applications using VB.Net.
For detailed discussion, please consult the ASP.Net Tutorial.

ASP.Net Built-in Objects

ASP.Net has some built-in objects that run on a web server. These objects have methods, properties
and collections that are used in application development.

The following table lists the ASP.Net built-in objects with a brief description −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 175/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Sr.No. Object & Description

1
Application

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information
related to the entire Web application, including variables and objects that exist for the
lifetime of the application.

You use this object to store and retrieve information to be shared among all users of an
application. For example, you can use an Application object to create an e-commerce
page.

2
Request

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information
related to the HTTP request. This includes forms, cookies, server variables, and
certificate data.

You use this object to access the information sent in a request from a browser to the
server. For example, you can use a Request object to access information entered by a
user in an HTML form.

3
Response

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information
related to the server's response. This includes displaying content, manipulating headers,
setting locales, and redirecting requests.

You use this object to send information to the browser. For example, you use a
Response object to send output from your scripts to a browser.

4
Server

Describes the methods and properties of the object that provides methods for various
server tasks. With these methods you can execute code, get error conditions, encode
text strings, create objects for use by the Web page, and map physical paths.

You use this object to access various utility functions on the server. For example, you
may use the Server object to set a time out for a script.

5
Session

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 176/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Describes the methods, properties, and collections of the object that stores information
related to the user's session, including variables and objects that exist for the lifetime of
the session.

You use this object to store and retrieve information about particular user sessions. For
example, you can use Session object to keep information about the user and his
preference and keep track of pending operations.

ASP.Net Programming Model

ASP.Net provides two types of programming models −

Web Forms − this enables you to create the user interface and the application logic that would
be applied to various components of the user interface.

WCF Services − this enables you to remote access some server-side functionalities.

For this chapter, you need to use Visual Studio Web Developer, which is free. The IDE is almost
same as you have already used for creating the Windows Applications.

Web Forms
Web forms consists of −

User interface

Application logic

User interface consists of static HTML or XML elements and ASP.Net server controls. When you
create a web application, HTML or XML elements and server controls are stored in a file with .aspx
extension. This file is also called the page file.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 177/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

The application logic consists of code applied to the user interface elements in the page. You write
this code in any of .Net language like, VB.Net, or C#. The following figure shows a Web Form in
Design view −

Example
Let us create a new web site with a web form, which will show the current date and time, when a
user clicks a button. Take the following steps −

Select File → New → Web Site. The New Web Site Dialog Box appears.

Select the ASP.Net Empty Web Site templates. Type a name for the web site and select a
location for saving the files.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 178/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

You need to add a Default page to the site. Right click the web site name in the Solution
Explorer and select Add New Item option from the context menu. The Add New Item dialog box
is displayed −

Select Web Form option and provide a name for the default page. We have kept it as
Default.aspx. Click the Add button.

The Default page is shown in Source view

Set the title for the Default web page by adding a value to the <Title> tag of the page, in the
Source view −

To add controls on the web page, go to the design view. Add three labels, a text box and a
button on the form.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 179/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Double-click the button and add the following code to the Click event of the button −

Protected Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button1.Click
Label2.Visible = True
Label2.Text = "Welcome to Tutorials Point: " + TextBox1.Text
Label3.Text = "You visited us at: " + DateTime.Now.ToString()
End Sub

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual Studio
tool bar, the following page opens in the browser −

Enter your name and click on the Submit button −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 180/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Web Services
A web service is a web application, which is basically a class consisting of methods that could be
used by other applications. It also follows a code-behind architecture like the ASP.Net web pages,
although it does not have an user interface.

The previous versions of .Net Framework used this concept of ASP.Net Web Service, which had
.asmx file extension. However, from .Net Framework 4.0 onwards, the Windows Communication
Foundation (WCF) technology has evolved as the new successor of Web Services, .Net Remoting
and some other related technologies. It has rather clubbed all these technologies together. In the
next section, we will provide a brief introduction to Windows Communication Foundation(WCF).

If you are using previous versions of .Net Framework, you can still create traditional web services.
Please consult ASP.Net - Web Services tutorial for detailed description.

Windows Communication Foundation

Windows Communication Foundation or WCF provides an API for creating distributed service-
oriented applications, known as WCF Services.

Like Web services, WCF services also enable communication between applications. However,
unlike web services, the communication here is not limited to HTTP only. WCF can be configured to
be used over HTTP, TCP, IPC, and Message Queues. Another strong point in favour of WCF is, it
provides support for duplex communication, whereas with web services we could achieve simplex
communication only.

From beginners' point of view, writing a WCF service is not altogether so different from writing a
Web Service. To keep the things simple, we will see how to −

Create a WCF Service

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 181/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

Create a Service Contract and define the operations

Implement the contract

Test the Service

Utilize the Service

Example
To understand the concept let us create a simplistic service that will provide stock price information.
The clients can query about the name and price of a stock based on the stock symbol. To keep this
example simple, the values are hardcoded in a two-dimensional array. This service will have two
methods −

GetPrice Method − it will return the price of a stock, based on the symbol provided.
GetName Method − it will return the name of the stock, based on the symbol provided.

Creating a WCF Service

Take the following steps −

Open VS Express for Web 2012

Select New Web Site to open the New Web Site dialog box.
Select WCF Service template from list of templates −

Select File System from the Web location drop-down list.

Provide a name and location for the WCF Service and click OK.
A new WCF Service is created.

Creating a Service Contract and Defining the Operations

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 182/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

A service contract defines the operation that a service performs. In the WCF Service application,
you will find two files automatically created in the App_Code folder in the Solution Explorer

IService.vb − this will have the service contract; in simpler words, it will have the interface for
the service, with the definitions of methods the service will provide, which you will implement in
your service.

Service.vb − this will implement the service contract.

Replace the code of the IService.vb file with the given code −

Public Interface IService

<OperationContract()>
Function GetPrice(ByVal symbol As String) As Double

<OperationContract()>
Function GetName(ByVal symbol As String) As String
End Interface

Implementing the Contract

In the Service.vb file, you will find a class named Service which will implement the Service Contract
defined in the IService interface.

Replace the code of IService.vb with the following code −

' NOTE: You can use the "Rename" command on the context menu to change the class name
Public Class Service
Implements IService
Public Sub New()
End Sub
Dim stocks As String(,) =
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 183/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

{
{"RELIND", "Reliance Industries", "1060.15"},
{"ICICI", "ICICI Bank", "911.55"},
{"JSW", "JSW Steel", "1201.25"},
{"WIPRO", "Wipro Limited", "1194.65"},
{"SATYAM", "Satyam Computers", "91.10"}
}

Public Function GetPrice(ByVal symbol As String) As Double _

Implements IService.GetPrice

Dim i As Integer
'it takes the symbol as parameter and returns price
For i = 0 To i = stocks.GetLength(0) - 1

If (String.Compare(symbol, stocks(i, 0)) = 0) Then

Return Convert.ToDouble(stocks(i, 2))
End If
Next i
Return 0
End Function

Public Function GetName(ByVal symbol As String) As String _

Implements IService.GetName

' It takes the symbol as parameter and

' returns name of the stock
Dim i As Integer
For i = 0 To i = stocks.GetLength(0) - 1

If (String.Compare(symbol, stocks(i, 0)) = 0) Then

Return stocks(i, 1)
End If
Next i
Return "Stock Not Found"
End Function
End Class

Testing the Service

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 184/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

To run the WCF Service, so created, select the Debug → Start Debugging option from the menu bar.
The output would be −

For testing the service operations, double click the name of the operation from the tree on the left
pane. A new tab will appear on the right pane.

Enter the value of parameters in the Request area of the right pane and click the 'Invoke' button.

The following diagram displays the result of testing the GetPrice operation −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 185/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

The following diagram displays the result of testing the GetName operation −

Utilizing the Service

Let us add a default page, a ASP.NET web form in the same solution from which we will be using
the WCF Service we have just created.

Take the following steps −

Right click on the solution name in the Solution Explorer and add a new web form to the
solution. It will be named Default.aspx.

Add two labels, a text box and a button on the form.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 186/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

We need to add a service reference to the WCF service we just created. Right click the website
in the Solution Explorer and select Add Service Reference option. This opens the Add Service
Reference Dialog box.

Enter the URL(location) of the Service in the Address text box and click the Go button. It
creates a service reference with the default name ServiceReference1. Click the OK button.

Adding the reference does two jobs for your project −

Creates the Address and Binding for the service in the web.config file.
Creates a proxy class to access the service.

Double click the Get Price button in the form, to enter the following code snippet on its Click
event −

Partial Class _Default

Inherits System.Web.UI.Page

Protected Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) _

Handles Button1.Click
Dim ser As ServiceReference1.ServiceClient = _
New ServiceReference1.ServiceClient
Label2.Text = ser.GetPrice(TextBox1.Text).ToString()

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 187/188
7/21/22, 1:32 PM VB.Net - Quick Guide

End Sub
End Class

When the above code is executed and run using Start button available at the Microsoft Visual
Studio tool bar, the following page opens in the browser −

Enter a symbol and click the Get Price button to get the hard-coded price −

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/vb.net/vb.net_quick_guide.htm 188/188