How to: Create an Object
An object is an instance of a class. To use the class's members you must first create an object from that class.
To create an object from a class
Determine from which class you want to create an object.
Write a Dim Statement (Visual Basic) to create a variable to which you can assign a class instance. The variable should be of the type of the desired class.
Dim nextCustomer As customerAdd the New (Visual Basic) keyword to initialize the variable to a new instance of the class.
Dim nextCustomer As New customerYou can now access the members of the class through the object variable.
nextCustomer.accountNumber = lastAccountNumber + 1
Robust Programming
Whenever possible, you should declare the variable to be of the class type you intend to assign to it. This is called early binding. If you do not know the class type at compile time, you can invoke late binding by declaring the variable to be of the Object Data Type. However, late binding can make performance slower and limit access to the run-time object's members. For more information, see Object Variable Declaration.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Reuse a Working Component
How to: Define a Class That Uses Members of an Existing Class
How to: Access Shared and Nonshared Members of an Object
How to: Declare an Instance of an Anonymous Type
How to: Declare an Object by Using an Object Initializer