Class Microsoft.VisualBasic.Information Syntax Dim result As VariantType = VarType(varName) varName (required; any) The variable, instance, or expression to test
Description The VarType function indicates the data type of an expression or instance, returning one of the following Microsoft.VisualBasic.VariantType enumeration values. Visual Basic also defines intrinsic constants for many of the members. Enumeration value | Intrinsic constant | Description |
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Array | vbArray | An array of data. | Boolean | vbBoolean | Boolean data type (TRue or False). | Byte | vbByte | Byte data type. | Char | vbChar | Char data type. | Currency | vbCurrency | Currency data type. This entry is for backward compatibility. The .NET Decimal data type replaces the VB 6 Currency data subtype. | DataObject | | Data objects. | Date | vbDate | Date data type. | Decimal | vbDecimal | Decimal data type. | Double | vbDecimal | Double data type. | Empty | vbEmpty | Null reference. | Error | | System.Exception instance. | Integer | vbInteger | Integer data type. | Long | vbLong | Long data type. | Null | vbNull | Null object; DBNull. | Object | vbObject | Object, uninitialized string, uninitialized array, object of a nonspecific type; Nothing. | Short | | Short data type. | Single | vbSingle | Single data type. | String | vbString | String data type. | UserDefinedType | vbUserDefinedType | A structure instance. | Variant | vbVariant | Variant data type. This entry is for backward compatibility. The .NET Object data type replaces the VB 6 Variant data type. |
Usage at a Glance If varName is a dimensioned array, the VarType function returns VariantType.Array and the data type of the array elements, combined using a bitwise Or operation. You can test for an array with a code fragment, such as the following: If ((VarType(someVariable) And VariantType.Array) = _ VariantType.Array) Then You can extract the data type of the array with the following code fragment: VarType(someVariable) And Not VariantType.Array All object variables, whether late bound or early bound, return VariantType.Object. Data types that are members of the base class library but do not directly map to one of the core data types listed in the VariantType enumeration (such as UInt16 or even UInteger) return VariantType.UserDefinedType.
Version Differences You could not pass a user-defined data type to VarType in VB 6. This use is supported in .NET. In VB 6, using the VarType function on an object returned the data type of its default property. In .NET, all objects, including objects that have default properties, return VariantType.Object.
See Also TypeName Function |