Convert.ToSByte (Object) converts object to an 8-bit signed integer.
Module Example Public Sub Main() Dim values() As Object = { True, -12, 5, "x"c, "104", "103.0", "-1", _ "1.00e2", "One", 1.00e2} Dim result As SByte For Each value As Object In values Try result = Convert.ToSByte(value) Console.WriteLine(result) Catch e As Exception Console.WriteLine("Exception") End Try Next End Sub End Module