SByte.Parse converts string number to 8-bit signed integer.
Module Example Public Sub Main() Dim values() As String = { " 12 ", "+120", "(103)", "192", "-160" } For Each value As String In values Try Console.WriteLine("Converted '{0}' to the SByte value {1}.",value, SByte.Parse(value)) Catch e As FormatException Console.WriteLine("'{0}' cannot be parsed successfully by SByte type.",value) Catch e As OverflowException Console.WriteLine("'{0}' is out of range of the SByte type.",value) End Try Next End Sub End Module