CODEWITHSUNDEEP
vb.netsyntax
qJake
qJake

Reputation: 17139

What do square brackets around an identifier in VB.NET signify?

I'm quite familiar with VB and .NET in general, but I just ran across this code:

Me.[GetType]()

What is the purpose of the brackets around GetType?

Upvotes: 24

Views: 11509

Answers (1)

Tim Schmelter
Tim Schmelter

Reputation: 460108

The square brackets are used to tell the compiler that he should interpret it as a type, even if it would be a keyword. But your example should be the same as Me.GetType().

You could use it for example for Enums.

Example-Enum:

Enum Colors
    Red
    Green
    Blue
    Yellow
End Enum 'Colors

Dim colors = [Enum].GetValues(GetType(Colors))
For Each c In colors
   Console.WriteLine(c)
Next

That wouldn't compile normally:

Enum.GetValues(GetType(Colors)) 'because Enum is a keyword'

Upvotes: 31

Related Questions