How to assign a value to an enum?

Question

Trying to assign a value to the _cat.CatType.

I was wondering how to do this without getting a null reference error?

using System;

public class Program
{
    private CatClass _cat;
    public void Main()
    {
        _cat.CatType = CatType.Active;

        Console.WriteLine(_cat.CatType.ToString());
    }

    public enum CatType
    {
        New,
        Active,
        Inactive
    }

    public class CatClass
    {
        public CatType CatType
        {
            get;
            set;
        }
    }
}

Ideally I want to assign it something like this _cat.CatType = CatType.Active

`private CatClass _cat;` does not create a `CatClass` object, it only creates a field which you can reference `CatClass` objects in. — Aaron Franke, Jun 20 '19 at 04:33

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 20 '19 at 04:26

2

You need to initialise it with the new keyword

Used to create objects and invoke constructors

public void Main()
{
    _cat = new CatClass();
    _cat.CatType = CatType.Active;

    Console.WriteLine(_cat.CatType.ToString());
}

answered Jun 20 '19 at 04:26

TheGeneral

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Ah so simple can't believe I missed that, thank you! – triedgooglingit Jun 20 '19 at 04:32

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 20 '19 at 04:27

0

You need to create an instance of the class.

private CatClass _cat = new CatClass;

answered Jun 20 '19 at 04:27

Joel Coehoorn

399,467
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oops missed a bit :) `new CatClass();` – TheGeneral Jun 20 '19 at 04:27

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 20 '19 at 04:28

0

Instantiate _cat with the new keyword first:

_cat = new CatClass
{
    CatType = CatType.Active
};

answered Jun 20 '19 at 04:28

RoadRunner

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How to assign a value to an enum?

3 Answers3