Class Properties, Fields, and Methods

In general, fields and properties represent information about an object, whereas methods represent actions an object can take.

The following topics describe the mechanisms for adding properties, fields, and methods to classes, and address issues associated with these items.

In This Section

• How to: Add Fields and Properties to a Class
  Provides information on declaring fields and properties.

• Properties and Property Procedures
  Explains how Property procedures work, and how to implement common property types.

• Property Procedures vs. Fields
  Helps you decide when to use fields to store data in a class, and when properties are a better choice.

• Class Methods
  Discusses the public procedures you add to your class.

• Properties vs. Methods
  Helps you decide whether your desired functionality is best implemented as a property or a method.

• Default Properties
  Discusses properties used when no specific property is named.

• Overloaded Properties and Methods
  Describes how to define multiple properties or methods with the same name, but work with different data types.

• Overriding Properties and Methods
  Discusses redefining an inherited property or method.

Related Sections

• Creating and Using Objects
  Demonstrates how to create and use instances of classes.

• Events in Visual Basic
  Demonstrates how to declare and use events.

• Delegates in Visual Basic
  Demonstrates how to declare and use delegates.

• Managing Your Objects with Collections
  Provides information on using collections to store and retrieve objects.