title: How should I cast in VB.NET?
body: <p>Are all of these equal?  Under what circumstances should I choose each over the others?</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><p>var.ToString()</p></li>
  <li><p>CStr(var)</p></li>
  <li><p>CType(var, String)</p></li>
  <li><p>DirectCast(var, String)</p></li>
  </ul>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p><em>EDIT: Suggestion from <strong><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/users/303/notmyself">NotMyself</a></strong>&hellip;</em></p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>TryCast(var, String)</li>
  </ul>