Visual Basic: dynamically create objects using a string as the name

Question

Is there a way to dynamically create an object using a string as the class name?

I\'ve been off VB for several years now, but to solve a problem in another language,

Answer 1

This will likely do what you want / tested working; switch the type comment at the top to see.

Imports System.Reflection

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
    '            Dim fullyQualifiedClassName as String = "System.Windows.Forms.TextBox"
    Dim fullyQualifiedClassName As String = "System.Windows.Forms.Button"
    Dim o = fetchInstance(fullyQualifiedClassName)
    ' sometime later where you can narrow down the type or interface...
    Dim b = CType(o, Control)
    b.Text = "test"
    b.Top = 10
    b.Left = 10
    Controls.Add(b)
End Sub

Private Function fetchInstance(ByVal fullyQualifiedClassName As String) As Object
    Dim nspc As String = fullyQualifiedClassName.Substring(0, fullyQualifiedClassName.LastIndexOf("."c))
    Dim o As Object = Nothing
    Try
        For Each ay In Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetReferencedAssemblies()
            If (ay.Name = nspc) Then
                o = Assembly.Load(ay).CreateInstance(fullyQualifiedClassName)
                Exit For
            End If
        Next
    Catch
    End Try
    Return o
End Function