Efficient, multiple variable declaration & assignment in VB.NET

Question

Being new to VB.NET, I would like to know which of the following is more efficient in nature (time-wise (which code runs faster), code-neatness-wise, etc. you may add your own reasons too)

Dim a, b, c, d As Integer
a = 1
b = 2
c = 3
d = 4

OR

Dim a As Integer = 1
Dim b As Integer = 2
Dim c As Integer = 3
Dim d As Integer = 4

I am mainly asking this because my code has way too many Dim statements & coming from a Python background, I have never ever seen soooo many declarations (I do need those though, trust me). Is this okay? Or am I coding in a bad style?

IF your code has "way too many Dim statements" then maybe a refactor should take place? Nothing worse than having a method with too much going on! — Ric
– Ric, Commented Nov 8, 2013 at 12:45
I really need those many variables. It's actually part of the refactoring! :D — shad0w_wa1k3r
– shad0w_wa1k3r, Commented Nov 8, 2013 at 12:48

mr_plum · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-08 13:23:40Z

6

Runtime performance will be identical, as they both compile to the same IL.

.locals init ([0] int32 a,
       [1] int32 b,
       [2] int32 c,
       [3] int32 d)
IL_0000:  ldc.i4.1
IL_0001:  stloc.0
IL_0002:  ldc.i4.2
IL_0003:  stloc.1
IL_0004:  ldc.i4.3
IL_0005:  stloc.2
IL_0006:  ldc.i4.4
IL_0007:  stloc.3
IL_0008:  ret

Style-wise, I would avoid declaring multiple variables on one line (as in your first example). One "concept" per line is easier to read - as you don't have to visually parse commas.

answered Nov 8, 2013 at 13:23

mr_plum

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:04:03Z

6

For the sake of clarity, perhaps one variable per line with an assignment for me personally is easier to look at and much clearer.

I mean you can do this:

Dim a As Single = 1, b As Single = 2, x As Double = 5.5, y As Double = 7.5

Taken from here.

But things start to look a bit difficult at this point. It is entirely a prefernce thing I suppose!

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:04

CommunityBot

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answered Nov 8, 2013 at 12:49

Ric

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2 Comments

γηράσκω δ' αεί πολλά διδασκόμε Over a year ago

Man, i have been using vb so long and i didn't knew that! The best answer by far.

Ric Over a year ago

Haha brilliant, haven't used VB for 4 years now!

DHUNPUT KHEMRAJ · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-07 01:15:58Z

-1

Both options are ok. Still if you are not happy then you can create an array as all variables are of the same data types. Hope that helps.

answered Oct 7, 2015 at 1:15

DHUNPUT KHEMRAJ

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