Module in VB.NET

[hafizfarooq]

Hello,

I m new to VB.NET, i have worked in VB.

My question is that we make MODULES in vb 6 for those functions which are normally use in our porject, like Center Form, Highlight Text etc..

Can we make these kind of modules in VB.NET ???

Thanks in advance

[jmcilhinney]

You certainly can create a module in VB.NET. You just right-click the project and select Add Module. That said, you should use modules very, VERY sparingly. Most projects have no need for modules. Use them only for utility members that don't logically belong to any specific class.

[RobDog888]

What did you have in mind to place in a module?

[hafizfarooq]

Different procedures and functions.

[RobDog888]

Probably should be in a class as its more OOP but almost everything should be in a class anyways.

[jmcilhinney]

Like I said, only members that don't logically belong to any specific class should be placed in a module and no project should have many of those. For instance, if you want a method to centre a form on-screen then you could inherit the Form class and add a method for the form to centre itself. Any of your forms that then need that functionality can inherit that class instead of the Form class.

Remember that in VB 2008 you can also create extension methods, IF you're targeting .NET 3.5. These MUST be declared in a module but then are called as though they are members of an object. Here's an extension method that will centre a form on screen:

Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices
 
Friend Module FormExtensions
 
    <Extension()> _
    Public Sub CenterOnScreen(ByVal extendee As Form)
        Dim screenArea As Rectangle = Screen.PrimaryScreen.WorkingArea
 
        extendee.Location = New Point((screenArea.Width - extendee.Width) \ 2, _
                                      (screenArea.Height - extendee.Height) \ 2)
    End Sub
 
End Module

You might call that method in a form like this:

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _
                          ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
    Me.CenterOnScreen()
End Sub

Notice that it's called as though it's a member of the current form, even though it's not. Intellisense uses a different icon to identify extension methods so you can tell them from actual members.

Notice, also, that it's called without arguments even though it is declared with a parameter. That's because the first object the method is called on is always passed to the first parameter.