Adding and Releasing References in Microsoft Visual Basic .NET

Microsoft Visual Basic .NET automatically adds object references when you assign the object to another variable, as shown in the following code:

Set ReferenceObj = OtherReferenceObj

Visual Basic .NET also automatically releases object references when a variable or list that contains a reference to an object goes out of scope. Local variable scope ends when the function returns. You can initiate the release of a reference to an object by setting the variable to the value Nothing, as shown in the following code:

Set ReferenceObj = Nothing