VB.NET equivalent for C# 'dynamic' with Option Strict On

Question

Is there an equivalent for the C# 4 'dynamic' keyword when using type safe VB.NET, i.e. with Option Strict On?

Answer 1

The equivalent is Object in VB.NET but with Option Strict Off. With Option Strict On there's no equivalent. Put another way the dynamic keyword brings Option Strict Off equivalent functionality to C#.

Answer 2

VB.NET always had the "dynamic" feature built in, originally called late binding. This syntax was supported forever:

 Dim obj = new SomeComClass()  obj.DoSomething() 

Worked on code implemented in .NET and COM, the latter being the most common use. The dynamic keyword in C# gave it that same capability. It did get changed in VB.NET version 10 however, it is now using the DLR as well. Which adds support for dynamic binding to language implementations like Python and Ruby.

The syntax is exactly the same, use the Dim keyword without As. You will however have to use Option Strict Off, Option Infer On can soften that blow a bit. It does show that C# using a specific keyword to signal dynamic binding was a pretty good move. Afaik all requests to do so in VB.NET as well have as yet been considered but not planned.

If you prefer Option Strict On, then using the Partial Class keyword so you can move some of the code into another source file is probably the most effective approach.