How to: Reuse a Working Component
If a component already exists and is debugged and working, it is to your advantage to use it in your code instead of developing another component with the same functionality. Such a component is usually exposed as a class. To reuse it, you create an object from that class.
Example
The .NET Framework provides many examples of components that are available for use. One such component is the TimeZone class in the System namespace. TimeZone provides members that allow you to retrieve information about the time zone of the current computer system.
Public Sub examineTimeZone()
Dim tz As System.TimeZone = System.TimeZone.CurrentTimeZone
Dim s As String = "Current time zone is "
s &= CStr(tz.GetUtcOffset(Now).Hours) & " hours and "
s &= CStr(tz.GetUtcOffset(Now).Minutes) & " minutes "
s &= "different from UTC (coordinated universal time)"
s &= vbCrLf & "and is currently "
If tz.IsDaylightSavingTime(Now) = False Then s &= "not "
s &= "on ""summer time""."
MsgBox(s)
End Sub
The first Dim Statement (Visual Basic) declares an object variable of type TimeZone and assigns to it a TimeZone object returned by the CurrentTimeZone property.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Define a Class That Uses Members of an Existing Class
How to: Access Shared and Nonshared Members of an Object