Variant Type in C#

Question

VBA (and I assume VB) has a Variant type which I believe takes up more memory, but covers various data types.

Is there an equivalent in c# ?

In a windows form say I had the following, how would I amend the type of z so that it runs ok

    private void uxConvertButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        int x = 10;

        byte j = (byte)x;
        upDateRTB(j);

        long q = (long)x;
        upDateRTB(q);

        string m = x.ToString();
        upDateRTB(m);
    }

    void upDateRTB(long z) {
        MessageBox.Show(this,"amount; "+z);
    }

Answer 1

void upDateRTB(object z) {
    MessageBox.Show(this, "amount; " + Convert.ToString(z));
}

Answer 2

An object parameter would accept all, but if you'd like to keep the variables strongly typed (and avoid boxing in the process), you could use generics:

void upDateRTB<T>(T z) {
    MessageBox.Show(this,"amount; "+ Convert.ToString(z)); 
}

The method calls could remain precisely the same, because the compiler can resolve the generic type based on the given parameter.