Internal class access modifier doesnt work?

Question

I really dont understand why, but it seems like the internal access modifier doesn't work :S

I've looked at this tutorial: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/7c5ka91b(v=vs.110).aspx

But for me, it compiles. ALso, i have a bought a book Illustrated C# 2012. And the author explains the internal class etc etc... But still, it doesn't do anything.

Here is my complete code that works EVEN with internal access.

//Program.cs
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
    class Program
    {
       static void Main(string[] args)
       {
           Class1 myclass = new Class1(); //works
           myclass.display(); //works
           myclass.display2(); //works even though its not public :S
           Console.Read();
       }
    }
}

-

//Class1.cs
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
    internal class Class1
    {
       public void display()
       {
           Console.WriteLine("display()");
       }

       internal void display2()
       {
           Console.WriteLine("display2()");
       }
    }
}

I can even access the function internal void display2() :S

Maybe you're confusing `internal` and `private`? – Chris Sinclair Mar 23 '13 at 11:29 — Chris Sinclair, Mar 23 '13 at 11:29

score 7 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

7

internal means "Acessible by anything in the same assembly".

Because your class Class1 and class Program are in the same assembly, class Program can access display2().

I think you've accidentally put them in the same assembly; if you look carefully at Microsoft's sample code you'll see it says "Assembly1.cs" and "Assembly2.cs"

If you are using Visual Studio, the easiest way to test this with a different assembly is to create a new class library project in the same solution. That will then count as a separate assembly. You'd have to add to the main project a reference to the new project (via Add Reference and then the Solution tab).

There's a Stack Overflow question about "What's an assembly?" if you need more info.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

Community

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answered Mar 23 '13 at 11:29

Matthew Watson

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wOOt? I thought assembly was like different cs. files – Assassinbeast Mar 23 '13 at 11:34
1

It's like a totally separate DLL. Having looked at that Microsoft documentation they really don't explain it very well! – Matthew Watson Mar 23 '13 at 11:34

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 23 '13 at 11:29

2

If both classes are in the same assembly then internal is working as expected.

The internal modifier is used to make sure that types and members are only available to files in the same assembly.

Ref: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/7c5ka91b%28v=vs.80%29.aspx

answered Mar 23 '13 at 11:29

Martin

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ahh, so how are you gonna access a .cs file if its not in the same project? – Assassinbeast Mar 23 '13 at 11:35
You can add multiple projects to a single solution in VS, and the internal types and members in one project are not available to the other projects, but public ones are. – Martin Mar 23 '13 at 11:37

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 23 '13 at 11:30

From MSDN;

Internal types or members are accessible only within files in the same assembly

Since Program and Class1 in the same assembly, there shouldn't be a problem..

What does the internal modifier do exactly? It states that "The intuitive meaning of internal is 'access limited to this program.'"

In other words, no external program will be able to access the internal type.

score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 23 '17 at 21:12

-1

The internal access modifier means the member can be accessed anywhere from within the same assembly. In your case, the classes "Program" and "Class1" are within the same assembly, therefore, Program can access display2 (Which is also internal and within the same assembly).

If you don't want display2 to be accessed from the Program class, you could simply make it private and therefore it would only be accessible from Class1.

answered Jan 23 '17 at 21:12

Trivaxy

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There are already several other answers saying this. We don't need *another* answer saying the same thing. – Servy Jan 23 '17 at 21:15

Internal class access modifier doesnt work?

4 Answers4