Basic Instincts: Type inference in Visual Basic 2008

To support Language Integrated Query (LINQ), a suite of new technologies was added to the upcoming release of Visual Basic 2008 that includes type inference. With type inference, the types of method-level members are inferred based on the right-hand side of any assignments in the declaration statements.

In the October installment of Basic Instincts in MSDN Magazine, Bill Horst explains why you need type inference, and how you can use it with LINQ and Lambda expressions. Bill also shows you how to update older Visual Basic code to compile correctly in a project where type inference is enabled.

If you missed it, in the September issue of MSDN Magazine, Timothy Ng explained the basic concepts of lambda expressions, their benefits, and how you can use them to write more expressive programs.

For more information about Visual Basic development, check out the Basic Instincts archive on the MSDN Magazine web site or subscribe to the Basic Instincts RSS feed.

Plus, you can explore the Visual Basic Developer Center to find tools, articles, starter kits, and more.

Enjoy!

Terrence Dorsey