Convert String, Byte Array

In VB.NET, a String can be stored as a series of Bytes. This is an efficient encoding for ASCII-only Strings.

This conversion can make file formats more efficient, and it can help compatibility. In VB.NET we can convert Strings to Byte arrays.

Example

The ASCII.GetBytes() Function receives an argument of String type. And it returns a Byte array reference. We do not need to allocate the Byte array—this is automatically done.

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        ' The input String.
        Dim value As String = "abc!"

        ' Convert String to Byte array.
        Dim array() As Byte = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(value)

        ' Display Bytes.
        For Each b As Byte In array
            Console.WriteLine("{0} = {1}", b, ChrW(b))
        Next
    End Sub
End Module
97 = a
98 = b
99 = c
33 = !

Example 2

We can convert Bytes into Strings—for this we use the ASCII.GetString() Function. This Function receives a Byte array and it returns the converted String.

Module Module1
    Sub Main()
        ' Input Bytes.
        Dim array() As Byte = {86, 66, 46, 78, 69, 84}

        ' Use GetString.
        Dim value As String = System.Text.ASCIIEncoding.ASCII.GetString(array)
        Console.WriteLine(value)
    End Sub
End Module
VB.NET

Notes, char functions

Other Functions, such as ASCII.GetChars, are also available. We can get char arrays, or counts of chars, from these functions. These are less often needed in my experience.

Having an efficient way to store character data is important. Sometimes this is useful for compatibility—a function may require bytes, but we have a string.