Friend Class in C#

mehdi62b · October 13th, 2004, 11:43 AM

Hello everybody,
I know we have Friend Class in C++ but I wanted to know whether I can use friend class in C#,
I figured out that its possible to use friend class in VB.NET(from http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...akeyFriend.asp)
but it seems I cant use it in C# (because of this link)
am I right?
Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------
Mehdi.:)

Kep · October 13th, 2004, 10:16 PM

You are right in that you can't use the keyword Friend in C#. But the equivalnet in C# is internal.

In VB.NET the a Friend class is

Quote:

quote:An entity with friend access is accessible only within the program that contains the entity declaration

.

In C# an internal class is only accessible within the assembly which it is declared (effectively the same thing).

So, to provide the same functionality just declare your class in C# as "internal".

Kep.

mehdi62b · October 14th, 2004, 02:20 AM

Thanks for checking my problem,
I meant from Friend Class something there is in C++(not in VB.NET or C#.NET)
Internal(C#.NET)==Friend(VB.NET)!=Friend(C++)
Friend classes in C++ let just one class access another class
Take a look at my example

Code:

C++
class wheel{
friend class car;//car can access wheel without any restriction
friend class bus;//bus can access wheel without any restriction
 //other declarations for wheel
};
class car{
 //declarations for car
};
class bus{
 //declarations for bus
};

as you see I didnt use Nested Classes,(I used Composite Classes instead)
I dont know how I can convert my C++ example to C#(without using Nested Classes)
(if I use Nested classes I have to declare Wheel class
in every bus or car class ...)

--------------------------------------------
Mehdi.:)

Kep · October 14th, 2004, 06:10 PM

Couldn't you use a generalised base class.

For example...

Code:

public abstract class Vehicle
{
    protected class Wheel
    {
        // details of wheel
    }
    // vehicle details
}

public class Car : Vehicle
{
    // car specifics
}

public class Bus : Vehicle
{
    // bus specifics
}

This should give you access to the Wheel class in both Car and Bus (and derivatives).

I hope this helps.

Kep.

mehdi62b · October 15th, 2004, 06:48 AM

yes exactly,

Code:

public abstract class Vehicle
{
    protected class Wheel
    {
        // details of wheel
    }
    protected Wheel wheel;   
    // vehicle details
}

public class Car : Vehicle
{
    // car specifics
}

public class Bus : Vehicle
{
    // bus specifics
}

Thanks Keith.

--------------------------------------------
Mehdi.:)

Tylo · May 21st, 2007, 11:29 AM

I get "inaccessable due to protection level" compile errors when I try this. Are you making the "details of wheel" public? That's the only way I've gotten this to work. I've always been taught to strive for the goal of making all data members private.

Tylo · May 23rd, 2007, 08:20 PM

Or at the very least, protected. I know this thread is about 2.5 years old, but can anyone give me some information?

Thanks,
Tylo

joefawcett · May 24th, 2007, 12:57 AM

I think protected internal is correct, when a thread is as old as this one it's probably necessary to state your actual problem more clearly, what exactly are you trying to achieve?

--

Joe (Microsoft MVP - XML)

Tylo · May 26th, 2007, 12:08 PM

I have a two classes (Class1 & Class2).

I want to allow one Class1 to edit Class2's private or protected data. However, I want Class2's data to remain uneditable by any other Classes.

In a way, I suppose the necessity of inheritance in this method ensures that only classes I want will be able to edit the data. However, I just feel funny making all the data public inside the base class(es). I'd like to make it protected or private, but the method doesn't seem to work that way. Should I just suck it up?

joefawcett · May 27th, 2007, 01:58 AM

Making the properties "protected internal" should work. That gives access to inhertited classes or ones in the same assembly.

--

Joe (Microsoft MVP - XML)