For the sake of backward compatibility, Visual Basic .NET continues to offer a set of functions that convert from Object to different primitive types: ``++CChar, CStr, CBool, CDate, CSng, CDbl, CDec, CByte, CSByte, CShort, CUShort, CInt, CUInt, CLng, CULng++``. However, using these functions is misleading, because it suggests a cast. It is better to cast explicitly using ``++CType()++``, or use ``++Convert.To()++`` when the value should be converted.