Keywords (Visual Basic)

The following tables list all Visual Basic language keywords.

Reserved Keywords

The following keywords are reserved, which means that you cannot use them as names for 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 (Visual Basic).

Note

We do not recommend that you use escaped names, because it can make your code hard to read, and it 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

CDbl

CDec

Char

CInt

Class Constraint

Class Statement

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 Statement

End <keyword>

EndIf

Enum

Erase

Error

Event

Exit

False

Finally

For (in For…Next)

For Each…Next

Friend

Function

Get

GetType

GetXMLNamespace

Global

GoSub

GoTo

Handles

If

If()

Implements

Implements Statement

Imports (.NET Namespace and Type)

Imports (XML Namespace)

In

In (Generic Modifier)

Inherits

Integer

Interface

Is

IsNot

Let

Lib

Like

Long

Loop

Me

Mod

Module

Module Statement

MustInherit

MustOverride

MyBase

MyClass

Namespace

Narrowing

New Constraint

New Operator

Next

Next (in Resume)

Not

Nothing

NotInheritable

NotOverridable

Object

Of

On

Operator

Option

Optional

Or

OrElse

Out (Generic Modifier)

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 Constraint

Structure Statement

Sub

SyncLock

Then

Throw

To

True

Try

TryCast

TypeOf…Is

UInteger

ULong

UShort

Using

Variant

Wend

When

While

Widening

With

WithEvents

WriteOnly

Xor

#Const

#Else

#ElseIf

#End

#If

=

&

&=

*

*=

/

/=

\

\=

^

^=

+

+=

-

-=

>> Operator (Visual Basic)

>>= Operator (Visual Basic)

<<

<<=

Note

EndIf, GoSub, Variant, and Wend are retained as reserved keywords, although they are no longer used in Visual Basic. The meaning of the Let keyword has changed. Let is now used in LINQ queries. For more information, see Let Clause (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.

Aggregate

Ansi

Assembly

Async

Auto

Await

Binary

Compare

Custom

Distinct

Equals

Explicit

From

Group By

Group Join

Into

IsFalse

IsTrue

Iterator

Join

Key (Visual Basic)

Mid

Off

Order By

Preserve

Skip

Skip While

Strict

Take

Take While

Text

Unicode

Until

Where

Yield 

#ExternalSource

#Region

Title

Description

Arrays Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists language elements that are used to create, define, and use arrays.

Collection Object Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists language elements that are used for collections.

Compiler Directive Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists directives that control compiler behavior.

Control Flow Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists statements that are used for looping and controlling procedure flow.

Conversion Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to convert numbers, dates, times, and strings.

Data Types Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists data types. Also lists functions that are used to convert between data types and verify data types.

Dates and Times Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists language elements that are used for dates and times.

Declarations and Constants Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists statements that are used to declare variables, constants, classes, modules, and other programming elements. Also lists language elements that are used to obtain object information, handle events, and implement inheritance.

Directories and Files Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to control the file system and to process files.

Errors Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists language elements that are used to catch and return run-time error values.

Financial Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to perform financial calculations.

Input and Output Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to read from and write to files, manage files, and print output.

Information and Interaction Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to run other programs, obtain command-line arguments, manipulate COM objects, retrieve color information, and use control dialog boxes.

Math Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to perform trigonometric and other mathematical calculations.

My Reference (Visual Basic)

Lists the objects contained in My, a feature that provides access to frequently used methods, properties, and events of the computer on which the application is running, the current application, the application's resources, the application's settings, and so on.

Operators Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists assignment and comparison expressions and other operators.

Registry Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to read, save, and delete program settings.

String Manipulation Summary (Visual Basic)

Lists functions that are used to manipulate strings.

See Also

Reference

Visual Basic Runtime Library Members