Cry about...
.NET / VB.Net Troubleshooting


Type '<type-name>' is not defined (VB.Net)

(or which namespace do I need for type <type-name>?)


Symptom:

When compiling a VB.Net application the compiler generates the following error:

error BC30002: Type 'TTTT' is not defined.'

Earlier versions of visual studio may not include the error code ("error BC30002:").

where 'TTTT' is the name of a class.

If you are using C# then the error is slightly different:

error CS0246: The type or namespace name 'TTTT' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

in this case please refer to the C# version of this article "The type or namespace name could not be found".

Cause:

The compiler does not recognise the class name 'TTTT'. This is either because the class name is miss-spelt or because the compiler could not find a corresponding definition.

Possible remedies:

  • A common cause is a simple misspelling where the class name is used.

    For example:

    dim connection as OdbcConection

    Here the class name should have been 'OdbcConnection', so the solution is to correct the spelling.

  • If the name refers to a component defined in the same project and then see my notes for "Type <component-name> is not defined".
  • If the name is correct then the next most likely cause is that the required namespace has not been included.

    For example:

    dim connection as OdbcConnection
    .
    .
    [Error] Type 'OdbcConnection' is not defined.

    In this example 'OdbcConnection' is defined in the namespace 'System.Data.Odbc' (although this differs been the .Net framework 1.0 and later versions). Try importing the necessary namespace, so in this case:

    Imports System.Data.Odbc

    Note that this "Imports" statement must be included at the very top of the file (i.e. before any code).

    The following table (which is not exhaustive) lists .NET class names together with the namespace that defines them:

    Name Namespace
    AppSettingsReader System.Configuration
    ArrayList System.Collections
    ASCIIEncoding System.Text
    AspNetCompatibilityRequirements
    as in <AspNetCompatibilityRequirements ...
    System.ServiceModel.Activation
    Assembly System.Reflection
    AttributeCollection System.Web.UI
    BasicHttpBinding System.ServiceModel
    BasicHttpSecurity  
    BinaryFormatter System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary
    Bindable
    as in <Bindable ...
    System.ComponentModel
    Bitmap System.Drawing
    Browsable
    as in <Browsable ...
    System.ComponentModel
    Brush System.Drawing
    Button System.Web.UI.WebControls
    CancelEventArgs System.ComponentModel
    CheckBoxList System.Web.UI.WebControls
    ClientCredentials System.ServiceModel.Description
    Color System.Drawing
    ColorMatrix System.Drawing.Imaging
    ComboBox System.Windows.Forms
    CompositeControl System.Web.UI.WebControls
    CompositeControlDesigner System.Web.UI.Design.WebControls
    ConcurrentBag System.Collections.Concurrent
    Control System.Web.UI
    ControlCollection System.Web.UI
    CultureInfo System.Globalization
    DataRow System.Data
    DataTable System.Data
    DateTimeFormatInfo System.Globalization
    DbContext System.Data.Entity
    DbSet
    as in DbSet(Of ...
    System.Data.Entity
    DebuggerStepThrough
    as in <DebuggerStepThrough>
    System.Diagnostics
    DefaultProperty
    as in <DefaultProperty ...
    System.ComponentModel
    DefaultValue
    as in <DefaultValue ...
    System.ComponentModel
    Description
    as in <Description ...
    System.ComponentModel
    DescriptionAttributeSystem.ComponentModel
    DESCryptoServiceProvider System.Security.Cryptography
    DialogResult System.Windows.Forms
    Dictionary
    as in Dictionary(Of ...
    System.Collections.Generic
    DictionaryEntry System.Collections
    DirectoryInfo System.IO
    DllImport System.Runtime.InteropServices
    EventArgs System
    EventLog System.Diagnostics
    EventLogInstaller System.Configuration.Install
    Note: Project needs a reference to system.configuration.install.dll
    Exception System
    Expression System.Linq.Expressions
    From .NET 3.5
    Extension
    as in <Extension()>
    System.Runtime.CompilerServices
    From .NET 3.5
    FieldInfo System.Reflection
    FileOutputStream Java.IO
    Note: Project needs a reference to vjslib and server requires the Visual J# runtime.
    FileSecurity System.Security.AccessControl
    FileStream System.IO
    FolderNameEditor System.Windows.Forms.Design
    Note: Project needs a reference to System.Design, which is included in the full .NET framework but not in the cut down .NET Framework Client Profile.
    Font System.Drawing
    FtpWebRequest System.Net
    FtpWebResponse System.Net
    Graphics System.Drawing
    GZipStream System.IO.Compression
    From .NET 2.0
    HMACSHA1 System.Security.Cryptography
    HtmlHead System.Web.UI.HtmlControls
    HtmlMeta System.Web.UI.HtmlControls
    HtmlTextWriter System.Web.UI
    HttpBrowserCapabilities System.Web
    HttpRequest System.Web
    HttpRequestMessageProperty System.ServiceModel.Channels
    HttpRuntime System.Web
    HttpSessionState System.Web.SessionState
    HttpStatusCode System.Net
    HttpsTransportBindingElement System.ServiceModel.Channels
    HttpWebRequest System.Net
    HttpWebResponse System.Net
    HybridDictionary System.Collections.Specialized
    IClientMessageInspector System.ServiceModel.Dispatcher
    ICloneable System
    ICryptoTransform System.Security.Cryptography
    IEndpointBehavior System.ServiceModel.Description
    IEnumerator System.Collections
    IHTMLDocument2 MSHTML
    Note: Project needs a reference to the Microsoft HTML Object Library.
    ImageAttributes System.Drawing.Imaging
    ImageClickEventArgs System.Web.UI
    Imaging System.Drawing
    IPAddress System.Net
    IPEndPoint System.Net
    IPGlobalPropertiesSystem.Net.NetworkInformation
    IPHostEntry System.Net
    ISerializable System.Runtime.Serialization
    IsolatedStorageFile System.IO.IsolatedStorage
    Label System.Web.UI.WebControls
    List
    as in List(Of ...)
    System.Collections.Generic
    ListBox System.Web.UI.WebControls
    ListDictionary System.Collections.Specialized
    ListItemCollection System.Web.UI.WebControls
    LiteralControl System.Web.UI
    MailAddress System.Net.Mail
    MailMessage In .NET 1.1: System.Web.Mail
    From .NET 2.0: System.Net.Mail
    ManagementScope System.Management
    Note: Project needs a reference to System.Management.
    Match System.Text.RegularExpressions
    MatchCollection System.Text.RegularExpressions
    MD5CryptoServiceProvider System.Security.Cryptography
    MemberExpression System.Linq.Expressions
    From .NET 3.5
    MemberInfo System.Reflection
    MemoryStream System.IO
    MethodBase System.Reflection
    Mutex System.Threading
    MutexSecurity System.Security.AccessControl
    NameValueCollection System.Collections.Specialized
    NetworkCredential System.Net
    Nullable System
    OdbcConnection System.Data.Odbc
    OdbcDataReader System.Data.Odbc
    OleDbCommand System.Data.OleDb
    OleDbConnection System.Data.OleDb
    OpenFileDialog System.Windows.Forms
    Page System.Web.UI
    PagesSection System.Web.Configuration
    ParameterDirection System.Data
    Pen System.Drawing
    Point System.Drawing
    PointF System.Drawing
    PrincipalContext System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement
    ProcessInfo System.Web
    ProcessStartInfo System.Diagnostics
    PropertyInfo System.Reflection
    ProviderException System.Configuration.Provider
    Queue
    as in Queue(Of ...
    System.Collections.Generic
    RC2CryptoServiceProvider System.Security.Cryptography
    ReadOnlyCollection System.Collections.ObjectModel
    Regex System.Text.RegularExpressions
    RegistryKey Microsoft.Win32
    RijndaelManaged System.Security.Cryptography
    SafeFileHandle Microsoft.Win32.SafeHandles
    ScriptManager System.Web.UI
    Note: Project needs a reference to System.Web.Extensions.
    SecureString System.Security
    SemaphoreSlim
    From .NET 4.
    System.Threading
    SerializationInfo System.Runtime.Serialization
    Socket System.Net.Sockets
    SolidBrush System.Drawing
    SortedList
    as in SortedList(Of ...
    System.Collections.Generic
    SpinLock
    From .NET 4.
    System.Threading
    SqlCommand System.Data.SqlClient
    SqlConnection System.Data.SqlClient
    SqlTransaction System.Data.SqlClient
    SslPolicyErrors System.Net.Security
    StackFrame System.Diagnostics
    StackTrace System.Diagnostics
    STAThreadAttribute
    as in <STAThreadAttribute ...
    System
    StopwatchSystem.Diagnostics
    Stream System.IO
    StreamingContext System.Runtime.Serialization
    StreamReader System.IO
    StreamWriter System.IO
    StringBuilder System.Text
    StringCollection System.Collections.Specialized
    StringReader System.IO
    StringWriter System.IO
    StructLayout
    as in <StructLayout ...
    System.Runtime.InteropServices
    SymmetricAlgorithm System.Security.Cryptography
    SyndicationFeed System.ServiceModel.Syndication
    Note: Project needs a reference to System.ServiceModel.
    TcpClient System.Net.Sockets
    TextBox System.Web.UI.WebControls
    TextInfo System.Globalization
    TextReader System.IO
    Thread System.Threading
    ThreadAbortException System.Threading
    ThreadPriority System.Threading
    ToolboxData
    as in <... ToolboxData ...
    System.Web.UI
    TripleDES System.Security.Cryptography
    TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider System.Security.Cryptography
    UpdateCheckInfo System.Deployment.Application
    UpdatePanel System.Web.UI
    may also require a project reference to System.Web.Extensions
    UTF8Encoding System.Text
    Unit System.Web.UI.WebControls
    WebClient System.Net
    WebControl System.Web.UI.WebControls
    WebRequest System.Net
    Win32Exception System.ComponentModel
    WindowsIdentity System.Security.Principal
    WindowsPrincipal System.Security.Principal
    X509Certificate System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates
    X509Chain System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates
    XDocument System.Xml.Linq
    XElement System.Xml.Linq
    XmlDocument System.Xml
    XmlElement System.Xml
    XmlPreloadedResolver System.Xml.Resolvers
    XmlReader System.Xml
    XmlReaderSettings System.Xml
    XmlTextReader System.Xml
    XmlTextWriter System.Xml
    XslCompiledTransform System.Xml.Xsl
    ZipEntry Java.Util.Zip
    Note: Project needs a reference to vjslib and server needs Visual J# runtime.
    ZipInputStream Java.Util.Zip
    Note: Project needs a reference to vjslib and server needs Visual J# runtime.
    ZipOutputStream Java.Util.Zip
    Note: Project needs a reference to vjslib and server needs Visual J# runtime.
    Zone System.Security.Policy

    I expect to add to this table over time.

  • If the name is correct and the necessary namespace has been included then check the framework version. Not all classes and types are available for all frameworks. For example "SempahoreSlim" was introduced with the .Net framework 4, which means that you will get an error trying to use it if you are targeting a .NET framework earlier than the .NET 4 framework after including a reference to System.Threading.

These notes are believed to be correct for VB.Net and C# for .NET 1.1, .NET 2, .NET 3.5 and .NET 4, and may apply to other versions as well.

For the corresponding C# version of this article please see "The type or namespace name could not be found".



About the author: is a dedicated software developer and webmaster. For his day job he develops websites and desktop applications as well as providing IT services. He moonlights as a technical author and consultant.