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vb.netclasstypesstructconventions

Why doesn't Visual Studio 2012 allow you to select Structure when creating a new VB.NET file? Are structures deprecated?

This is not a subjective question; I am mainly asking to see if structures are now deprecated or something in VB.NET.

It is also not generally a duplicate of a question asking when to use a structure or a class, as this is largely checking to see if such information has become outdated. Furthermore it is certainly not a duplicate of questions relating specifically to C#, as these are two different (albeit similar) languages. The difference between classes and structures is language-dependent, as can be demonstrated by VB.NET and C++.

In Visual Studio 2012, when creating a new VB.NET file, you get options for Module and Class, among other things, but there is no option for Structure. For instance:

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If you simply select to add a new item, then the much more complete menu doesn't list it either:

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This seems like an awfully big oversight, especially when there are meaningful differences between classes and structures in VB.NET, so I'm certainly suspicious that it's not really an oversight at all.

Are structures a deprecated practice now? Has the language been revised in some way that has made the difference between a structure and a class much more meaningless? Is there any technical or widely-held convention that I am unaware of here? Or is it just an oversight after all? Thanks.

EDIT

To make a long story short, my understanding is that, among one or two other things, structures tend to be more efficient for smaller amounts of code, and classes tend to be more efficient for larger amounts. This is because of differences between they ways that their memory is managed. Even though a lot of people always think in terms of classes in a language-agnostic kind of way, I thought there was a practice among fluent VB.NET developers to use structures as well.

Solution

  • No, structures are not deprecated. They have just never been on the Add Item list.

    Which is probably because people haven't been willing to reserve a whole file for a single structure, preferring to put them in classes and modules. But you can if you want.

    If you are concerned with class vs structure differences, you probably want to see Structs versus classes.