VB.NET Assignment Operators

The supporting VB.NET Assignment Operators are =, ^=, *=, /=, \=, +=, -=, <<=, >>=, &=.

= Operator

Assigns a value to a variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty = value  

Parts

variableorproperty: Any writable variable or any property.

value: Any literal, constant, or expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the equal sign (=) can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly. The = operator assigns the value on its right to the variable or property on its left.

Overloading

The = operator can be overloaded only as a relational comparison operator, not as an assignment operator. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• &= Operator
• *= Operator
• += Operator
• -= Operator (Visual Basic)
• /= Operator (Visual Basic)
• \= Operator
• ^= Operator
• Statements
• Comparison Operators
• ReadOnly
• Local Type Inference

^= Operator

Raises the value of a variable or property to the power of an expression and assigns the result back to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty ^= expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any numeric variable or property.

expression: Required. Any numeric expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the ^= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The ^= operator first raises the value of the variable or property (on the left-hand side of the operator) to the power of the value of the expression (on the right-hand side of the operator). The operator then assigns the result of that operation back to the variable or property.

Visual Basic always performs exponentiation in the Double Data Type. Operands of any different type are converted to Double, and the result is always Double.

The value of expression can be fractional, negative, or both.

Overloading

The ^ Operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the ^ operator affects the behavior of the ^= operator. If your code uses ^= on a class or structure that overloads ^, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• ^ Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

*= Operator

Multiplies the value of a variable or property by the value of an expression and assigns the result to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty *= expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any numeric variable or property.

expression: Required. Any numeric expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the *= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The *= operator first multiplies the value of the expression (on the right-hand side of the operator) by the value of the variable or property (on the left-hand side of the operator). The operator then assigns the result of that operation to the variable or property.

Overloading

The * Operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the * operator affects the behavior of the *= operator. If your code uses *= on a class or structure that overloads *, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• * Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

/= Operator

Divides the value of a variable or property by the value of an expression and assigns the floating-point result to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty /= expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any numeric variable or property.

expression: Required. Any numeric expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the /= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The /= operator first divides the value of the variable or property (on the left-hand side of the operator) by the value of the expression (on the right-hand side of the operator). The operator then assigns the floating-point result of that operation to the variable or property.

This statement assigns a Double value to the variable or property on the left. If Option Strict is On, variableorproperty must be a Double. If Option Strict is Off, Visual Basic performs an implicit conversion and assigns the resulting value to variableorproperty, with a possible error at run time. For more information, see Widening and Narrowing Conversions and Option Strict Statement.

Overloading

The / Operator (Visual Basic) can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the / operator affects the behavior of the /= operator. If your code uses /= on a class or structure that overloads /, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• / Operator (Visual Basic)
• \= Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

\= Operator

Divides the value of a variable or property by the value of an expression and assigns the integer result to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty \= expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any numeric variable or property.

expression: Required. Any numeric expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the \= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The \= operator divides the value of a variable or property on its left by the value on its right, and assigns the integer result to the variable or property on its left

For further information on integer division, see \ Operator (Visual Basic).

Overloading

The \ operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the \ operator affects the behavior of the \= operator. If your code uses \= on a class or structure that overloads \, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• \ Operator (Visual Basic)
• /= Operator (Visual Basic)
• Assignment Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

+= Operator

Adds the value of a numeric expression to the value of a numeric variable or property and assigns the result to the variable or property. Can also be used to concatenate a String expression to a String variable or property and assign the result to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty += expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any numeric or String variable or property.

expression: Required. Any numeric or String expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the += operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The += operator adds the value on its right to the variable or property on its left, and assigns the result to the variable or property on its left. The += operator can also be used to concatenate the String expression on its right to the String variable or property on its left, and assign the result to the variable or property on its left.

This assignment operator implicitly performs widening but not narrowing conversions if the compilation environment enforces strict semantics. For more information on these conversions, see Widening and Narrowing Conversions. For more information on strict and permissive semantics, see Option Strict Statement.

If permissive semantics are allowed, the += operator implicitly performs a variety of string and numeric conversions identical to those performed by the + operator. For details on these conversions, see + Operator.

Overloading

The + operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the + operator affects the behavior of the += operator. If your code uses += on a class or structure that overloads +, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• + Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Concatenation Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

-= Operator

Subtracts the value of an expression from the value of a variable or property and assigns the result to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty -= expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any numeric variable or property.

expression: Required. Any numeric expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the -= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The -= operator first subtracts the value of the expression (on the right-hand side of the operator) from the value of the variable or property (on the left-hand side of the operator). The operator then assigns the result of that operation to the variable or property.

Overloading

The - Operator (Visual Basic) can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the - operator affects the behavior of the -= operator. If your code uses -= on a class or structure that overloads -, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• - Operator (Visual Basic)
• Assignment Operators
• Arithmetic Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

<<= Operator

Performs an arithmetic left shift on the value of a variable or property and assigns the result back to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty <<= amount  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Variable or property of an integral type (SByte, Byte, Short, UShort, Integer, UInteger, Long, or ULong).

amount: Required. Numeric expression of a data type that widens to Integer.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the <<= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The <<= operator first performs an arithmetic left shift on the value of the variable or property. The operator then assigns the result of that operation back to that variable or property.

Arithmetic shifts are not circular, which means the bits shifted off one end of the result are not reintroduced at the other end. In an arithmetic left shift, the bits shifted beyond the range of the result data type are discarded, and the bit positions vacated on the right are set to zero.

Overloading

The << Operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the << operator affects the behavior of the <<= operator. If your code uses <<= on a class or structure that overloads <<, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• << Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Bit Shift Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

>>= Operator

Performs an arithmetic right shift on the value of a variable or property and assigns the result back to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty >>= amount  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Variable or property of an integral type (SByte, Byte, Short, UShort, Integer, UInteger, Long, or ULong).

amount: Required. Numeric expression of a data type that widens to Integer.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the >>= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly.

The >>= operator first performs an arithmetic right shift on the value of the variable or property. The operator then assigns the result of that operation back to the variable or property.

Arithmetic shifts are not circular, which means the bits shifted off one end of the result are not reintroduced at the other end. In an arithmetic right shift, the bits shifted beyond the rightmost bit position are discarded, and the leftmost bit is propagated into the bit positions vacated at the left. This means that if variableorproperty has a negative value, the vacated positions are set to one. If variableorproperty is positive, or if its data type is an unsigned type, the vacated positions are set to zero.

Overloading

The >> Operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the >> operator affects the behavior of the >>= operator. If your code uses >>= on a class or structure that overloads >>, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• >> Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Bit Shift Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

&= Operator

Concatenates a String expression to a String variable or property and assigns the result to the variable or property.

Syntax

variableorproperty &= expression  

Parts

variableorproperty: Required. Any String variable or property.

expression: Required. Any String expression.

Remarks

The element on the left side of the &= operator can be a simple scalar variable, a property, or an element of an array. The variable or property cannot be ReadOnly. The &= operator concatenates the String expression on its right to the String variable or property on its left, and assigns the result to the variable or property on its left.

Overloading

The & Operator can be overloaded, which means that a class or structure can redefine its behavior when an operand has the type of that class or structure. Overloading the & operator affects the behavior of the &= operator. If your code uses &= on a class or structure that overloads &, be sure you understand its redefined behavior. For more information, see Operator Procedures.

See also

• & Operator
• += Operator
• Assignment Operators
• Concatenation Operators
• Operator Precedence in Visual Basic
• Operators Listed by Functionality
• Statements

Source/Reference

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/assignment-operators
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/exponentiation-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/multiplication-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/floating-point-division-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/integer-division-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/addition-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/subtraction-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/left-shift-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/right-shift-assignment-operator
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/visual-basic/language-reference/operators/and-assignment-operator