Top ASP 101 Stories The Top 10 ASP Links @ Microsoft.com What is Adovbs.inc and Why Do I Need It? An Overview of ASP.NET QUICK TIP: Stop Users from Double Clicking Show All Tips >>  ASP 101 Updates

Quick Tips

For years I've been telling people that they shouldn't write any VB or VBScript code without first specifying Option Explicit. Well, times change and I no longer use Option Explicit. These days it's Option Strict.

In VB.NET, just declaring your variables isn't enough anymore. In order for your code to perform at its best, you really should include type information when you declare your variables:

Dim intLoopVar As Integer
Dim strFirstName As String = "John"

In order to require you to assign types to all your variables, use the Option Strict compiler option. If you're using VB.NET, you can use Option Strict anywhere you can use Option Explicit. If you want to use it in an ASP.NET web form, simply add the Strict attribute to the Page directive:

<%@ Page Language="VB" Strict="True" %>

Once you add the Strict attribute, any attempt to run the page without specifying the types of your variables will result in a compilation error something like this:

Compiler Error Message: BC30209: Option Strict On requires all variable declarations to have an 'As' clause.

If you have a tip you would like to submit, please send it to: webmaster@asp101.com.