Imports

Most larger VB.NET programs begin with an Imports Statement, and this is done to allow the program to more easily access types within namespaces.

With an equals sign, we can define an alias to a type or namespace. So we can use custom identifiers as types—this can make programs easier to read, or (more often) harder to read.

Example

This program uses 3 Imports statements. The first 2 statements are alias statements, meaning they import a type (a Class) and use a new word to refer to it.

Imports Cat = System.Text.StringBuilder
Imports Door = System.Console
Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions

Module Module1

    Sub Main()
        ' Create a StringBuilder using the Cat alias.
        Dim sparky As Cat = New Cat()
        sparky.Append("123")
        sparky.Append("abc")

        ' Use the Door alias to System.Console.
        Door.WriteLine(sparky)

        ' See if the Cat matches the Regex.
        If Regex.IsMatch(sparky.ToString(), "\d\d\d...")
            Door.WriteLine("OK")
        End If
    End Sub

End Module
123abc
OK

Using notes

Suppose you have a larger project with 2 classes both named with a common word. With Imports aliases, we could alias one of them to a slightly different word.

Summary

The Imports keyword is used to access namespaces or types like Classes. It cannot specify a method name—this will cause a compile-time error.