Visual Basic .NET Language Visual Basic 14.0 Features Null conditional operator
Example
To avoid verbose null checking, the ?. operator has been introduced in the language.
The old verbose syntax:
If myObject IsNot Nothing AndAlso myObject.Value >= 10 Then
Can be now replaced by the concise:
If myObject?.Value >= 10 Then
The ? operator is particularly powerful when you have a chain of properties. Consider the following:
Dim fooInstance As Foo = Nothing
Dim s As String
Normally you would have to write something like this:
If fooInstance IsNot Nothing AndAlso fooInstance.BarInstance IsNot Nothing Then
s = fooInstance.BarInstance.Baz
Else
s = Nothing
End If
But with the ? operator this can be replaced with just:
s = fooInstance?.BarInstance?.Baz
