String ($) Function Changes in Visual Basic
Visual Basic .NET eliminates the need for some functions to have both a String version and a Variant version.
Visual Basic 6.0
In Visual Basic 6.0, some functions have two versions, one that returns a String value and one that returns a Variant value. These function pairs are differentiated by a dollar sign ($) suffix for the String version; for example, Chr and Chr$.
Visual Basic .NET
Visual Basic .NET replaces each function pair with a single function. The Variant versions are discontinued, and you can call the String versions either with or without the $ suffix.
Although only Trim is defined, Visual Basic .NET accepts Trim$ because the $ works as an identifier type character for the String data type.