Visual Basic Language Keywords

Language Keywords

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/.NET Framework 2.0

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Visual Basic Language Reference

Visual Basic Language Keywords

The following tables list all the Visual Basic language keywords.

Reserved Keywords

The following keywords are reserved, which means you cannot use them as names for your programming elements such as variables or procedures. You can bypass this restriction by enclosing the name in brackets ([ ]). For more information, see "Escaped Names" in Declared Element Names.

Note
Using escaped names is not recommended, because it can make your code hard to read, and can lead to subtle errors that can be difficult to find.

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	EndIf
Enum	Erase	Error	Event
Exit	False	Finally	For
Friend	Function	Get	GetType
Global	GoSub	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	NotInheritable
NotOverridable	Object	Of	On
Operator	Option	Optional	Or
OrElse	Overloads	Overridable	Overrides
ParamArray	Partial	Private	Property
Protected	Public	RaiseEvent	ReadOnly
ReDim	REM	RemoveHandler	Resume
Return	SByte	Select	Set
Shadows	Shared	Short	Single
Static	Step	Stop	String
Structure	Sub	SyncLock	Then
Throw	To	True	Try
TryCast	TypeOf	Variant	Wend
UInteger	ULong	UShort	Using
When	While	Widening	With
WithEvents	WriteOnly	Xor	#Const
#Else	#ElseIf	#End	#If
-	&	&=	*
*=	/	/=	\
\=	^	^=	+
+=	=	-=

Note
EndIf, GoSub, Let, Variant, and Wend are retained as reserved keywords, although they are no longer used in Visual Basic.

Unreserved Keywords

The following keywords are not reserved, which means you can use them as names for your programming elements. However, doing this is not recommended, because it can make your code hard to read and can lead to subtle errors that can be difficult to find.

Ansi	Assembly	Auto	Binary
Compare	Custom	Explicit	IsFalse
IsTrue	Mid	Off	Preserve
Strict	Text	Unicode	Until
#ExternalSource	#Region

Reference

Visual Basic Run-Time Library Members
Keywords and Members by Task
Keywords Compared in Different Languages