VB .NET Language in a Nutshell

Name

Imports Statement

Syntax

Imports[aliasname = ] namespace

aliasname

Use: Optional

Type: String literal

The name by which the namespace will be referenced in the module

namespace

Use: Required

Type:

The name of the namespace being imported

Description

Imports namespaces and assemblies, making their classes and class members available to the current module

Rules at a Glance

• A single Imports statement can import one namespace.

• A module can have have as many Imports statements as needed.

• Imports statements are used to import names from other projects and assemblies, as well as from namespaces in the current project.

• Imports statements must be placed in a module before references to any identifiers (e.g., variables, classes, procedures, functions, etc.).

• If aliasname is absent from an Imports statement, types in that namespace can be referenced without qualification.

• If aliasname is present in an Imports statement, types in that namespace must be qualified with aliasname in order to be accessible.

• The name aliasname must not be assigned to any other member within the module.

Programming Tips and Gotchas

• In ASP.NET, a number of namespaces are imported automatically. These include System.Web and its child namespaces.

• You do not use the Imports statement to import namespaces into an ASP.NET application. Instead, you can import a namespace into an ASP.NET application in a number of ways:

  • By creating an <add namespace> directive in a web.config configuration file. For example:

    <compilation> <namespaces> ...