Numbers can be shifted with the << and >> operators, but the right operand of
the operation needs to be an int or a type that has an implicit
conversion to int. However, when the left operand is an object, the compiler’s type checking is turned off, so you can
pass anything to the right of a shift operator and have it compile. And if the argument can’t be implicitly converted to int at runtime,
then a RuntimeBinderException will be
raised.
Dim o As Object = 5 Dim x As Integer = 5 x = o >> 5 ' Noncompliant x = x << o ' Noncompliant
This rule does not raise when the left or the right expression is Nothing.
x = Nothing >> 5 x = 5 << Nothing