IN the help file for VB.net under the heading "Structure
Variables" it states:
You can also assign one variable to another if both are of
the same structure type. This copies all the elements of
one structure to the corresponding elements in the other,
as in the following example:

YourSystem = MySystem
If a structure element is a reference type, such as a
String, Object, or array, the pointer to the data is
copied. If SystemInfo had included an object variable,
then the preceding example would have copied the pointer
from MySystem to YourSystem, and a change to the object's
data through one structure would be in effect when
accessed through the other structure.

But then under the heading "Value Types and Reference
Types" it states:
A data type is a value type if it holds the data within
its own memory allocation. A reference type contains a
pointer to another memory location that holds the data.

Value types include:

All numeric data types
Boolean, Char, and Date
All structures, even if their members are reference types


So the question is which of these statements is correct
when it comes to assigning one structure to another of the
same type as in YourSystem = MySystem. Does this actually
only copy the pointer of MySystem to YourSystem or does it
copy the Values? Does YourSystem.CPU only have a pointer
back to MySystem.CPU or does it contain it's own unique

I constructed a small test to validate what actually
happens. The structure used looks like this:
Public Structure SomeData
Dim MyName As String
Dim MyChildren() As String
Dim ID As Int16
End Structure

And then I declared 2 other variables:
Dim MyData as SomeData
Dim YourData() as SomeData

ReDim YourData(5)
ReDim MyData.MyChildren(2)
MyData.MyName = "John"
MyData.MyChildren(0) = "Andy"
MyData.MyChildren(1) = "Sally"
MyData.ID = 1
YourData(0) = MyData
YourData(0).MyName = "David"
MyData.ID = 2
YourData(0).ID = 3
YourData(0).MyChildren(0) = "George"
MyData.MyChildren(1) = "Jane"

The result was that MyData.MyChildren(0) = "George" and
YourData().MyChildren(0) = "George" but MyData.MyName
= "John" and YourData(0).MyName = "David". So it looks
like it only copies pointers for those inner arrays and
not strings even though strings are listed as "reference"
types.

[quoted text, click to view]