I am a Delphi programmer switching to vb.net. In Delphi you could
define a metaclasstype like

type MetaClassName = class of TSomeClass;

and you could use this type as a function result. This way you could
get as a function result the type of a class instead of an instance of
this class.

My question is, is there an equivalent in vb.net? And if so, what is
the syntax.

------
Marius

Something like this?


Public Function Foo(ByVal theClass As Object) As Type
    Return theClass.GetType()
End Function

It would be:

  Dim MetaClassName As Type = Type.GetType(TSomeClass)

If you had a variable that was an instance of something then it would be:

  Dim MetaClassName As Type = SomeInstance.GetType()


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Marius,
In addition to the other comments:

Consider using:

    Dim MetaClassName As Type = GetType(TSomeClass)

Be mindful of the GetType keyword, and the Type.GetType function.

The GetType keyword accepts a type identifier & will cause a compile error
if you give a non-existent type.

    Dim MetaClassName As Type = GetType(TSomeClass)

The Type.GetType function accepts a string & will cause a runtime error if
you give it a non-existent type. Generally its safest to give a qualified
name to Type.GetType that includes the namespace along with the assembly.

    Dim MetaClassName As Type = GetType("SomeNamespace.TSomeClass,
SomeAssembly")


For types within my assembly or assemblies that I know I have explicitly
referenced I will use the GetType keyword so as to ensure compile time
errors.

For types that I want to dynamically load, for example plugins listed in the
app/web config, I will use the Type.GetType function.

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Check out the 'System.Type' class, its members and the 'GetType' statement.

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