Question

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What does [String] mean in VB.NET?

Dim assem As [Assembly] = [Assembly].GetExecutingAssembly()

Dim assem As Assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly()

Answer 1

Square braces in VB.NET are used to allow for literal naming, even if the identifier might be a keyword in VB.NET. Generally, these are more prevalent in generated code, since there’s no point in doing it unless the word actually is a keyword.

In this case, there is no difference. What square braces allow you to do would be to, say, name a class the same as a keyword in VB.NET. For example,

Dim test as [Dim]

This would allow you to name your class Dim, which would ordinarily give you an error since Dim is a keyword.

Likewise, you can use it for variable names:

Dim [Dim] as String

Here, instead of on the type name, we’re using it on the variable name. Same concept.

However, if you’re doing this, then it’s generally a code smell; it’s usually a better idea to find a name that isn’t a keyword so that people using your class don’t have to enclose the name in braces.