C#.net object reference error

Question

How you tell me how to change the C#.net desktop 2008 logic so it will compile clean and the logic works? The problem is I am trying to create an instance of an object in a static class

In this application I want to create a 'class with methods for accessing the active directory' from all parts of the solution file. As part of this logic change when a user clicks on the desktop shortcut and they are not assigned to any active directory groups, I want to throw an error message stating 'do not have access-contact network administrator and throw them out of the application.

The logic to check the user credentials comes from the main method that is a 'static' method in program.cs.

The code I want to add to the main methos is as follows:

ActiveDirectoryUser CurUser;

CurUser = new ActiveDirectoryUser();

However I get the following errors:

-
Error 55 'Desktop.CurUser': cannot declare instance members in a static class

Error 56 The type or namespace name 'ActiveDirectoryUser' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

Error 57 The type or namespace name 'ActiveDirectoryUser' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

The cLass i want to reference looks like the following:

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Reflection;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading;
using System.Web;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Security.Principal;

namespace EnrollTrac.Common
{
public class ActiveDirectoryUser
{
public ActiveDirectoryUser()
{
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.WindowsPrincipal);
Thread.CurrentPrincipal = new WindowsPrincipal(WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent());

if ((!Thread.CurrentPrincipal.IsInRole("testit")))

{
MessageBox.Show("You do not have authortity.Please contact your network administrator"," Error", essageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
return;

}

else

{
Application.Run(new Desk());
break;
}

Vulpes · Answer

If your ActiveDirectoryUser class is in a different namespace to your Desktop class (the class which appears to include your Main method), then you need to add the following 'user directive' at the top of the latter's file so that you don't have to fully qualify ActiveDirectoryUser: using EnrollTrac.Common; A static class can't have instance members but it can have static members. So this would be allowed: static class Desktop { internal static ActiveDirectoryUser CurUser; static void Main(string[] args) { CurUser = new ActiveDirectoryUser(); // etc } } You could then access the current user from other classes in the application with Desktop.CurUser.

Sam Hobbs · Answer

I don't see where the ActiveDirectoryUser class is defined as static but I can guess what it is that you are trying to do. My suggestion in the other thread is that you put a member in the Program class that is a static member but you do not need to make the class static. If you want to make the class static then apparently you need to make the member static also. I apologize for just saying "the member" but you don't show enough of your code for us to know what member it is. The simple answer is that if the class is static, then everything in the class must be static. That applies here only; after you get a little more experience and knowledge of C#, you might find a way and a need to break that rule but I cannot think of any.