Variant data type equivalent to C#'s

Question

Variant data type equivalent to C#'s

John 506

What is the equivalent of VBA's variant data type for C#?

P a u l 10,761 Reputation points

2023-06-17T19:41:59.68+00:00

Are you trying to create a variable that can be assigned values of any type, or are you just looking to avoid having to explicitly specify the type when declaring a variable?

John 506

This is what I am trying to explain how the var data type is used in C#

var arrayWord = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].Word; 

Globals.ThisDocument.ActiveWindow.Selection.TypeText(arrayWord.ToString() + "\n");              

var arraySynonyms = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].MeaningList;              

var arrayAntonyms = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].AntonymList;

P a u l 10,761 Reputation points

2023-06-18T16:08:11.0933333+00:00
The var keyword just means that the compiler works out what type the variable is from what you're assigning to it. It avoids you having to type out the type when it can be inferred from the context.

For example, these two lines are interpreted the same by the .NET runtime:

var arrayWord = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].Word; string arrayWord = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].Word;

C# versions are backwards compatible, so the first line in the above example becomes the second line during the first stage of compilation (called lowering).

var isn't a data type, it's just a placeholder for the real type. This is different from how the Variant type works in VBA, as once a type is inferred in C# you can't then change it to another type. For example, this will give you a compiler error:

var a = 1; // "a" is inferred to be an int32 a = "foo"; // Compiler error, because "a" can now only hold an int32

If you do want to be able to reassign a variable to point at an object of a different type then you'd use object instead. Any other value in C# can either be referenced by that variable or boxed inside an object that holds the original value (for value types).

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P a u l 10,761 Reputation points

2023-06-17T19:41:59.68+00:00

Are you trying to create a variable that can be assigned values of any type, or are you just looking to avoid having to explicitly specify the type when declaring a variable?
John 506 Reputation points

2023-06-18T04:46:27.2733333+00:00

This is what I am trying to explain how the var data type is used in C#

var arrayWord = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].Word; Globals.ThisDocument.ActiveWindow.Selection.TypeText(arrayWord.ToString() + "\n"); var arraySynonyms = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].MeaningList; var arrayAntonyms = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].AntonymList;
P a u l 10,761 Reputation points

2023-06-18T16:08:11.0933333+00:00

The var keyword just means that the compiler works out what type the variable is from what you're assigning to it. It avoids you having to type out the type when it can be inferred from the context.

For example, these two lines are interpreted the same by the .NET runtime:

var arrayWord = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].Word; string arrayWord = appWord.SynonymInfo["big", WdLanguageID.wdEnglishUS].Word;

C# versions are backwards compatible, so the first line in the above example becomes the second line during the first stage of compilation (called lowering).

var isn't a data type, it's just a placeholder for the real type. This is different from how the Variant type works in VBA, as once a type is inferred in C# you can't then change it to another type. For example, this will give you a compiler error:

var a = 1; // "a" is inferred to be an int32 a = "foo"; // Compiler error, because "a" can now only hold an int32

If you do want to be able to reassign a variable to point at an object of a different type then you'd use object instead. Any other value in C# can either be referenced by that variable or boxed inside an object that holds the original value (for value types).

Answer 1

Bruce (SqlWork.com) 77,766 Volunteer Moderator

the object datatype is the closest to the vb variant.

// explicit
object a = 10; // int (boxed)
a = "abc";     // now string

// var
var b = new object();
b = 10;        // now int (boxed)
b = "abc";     // now string

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Variant data type equivalent to C#'s

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