CS0120: An object reference is required for the nonstatic field, method, or property 'foo'

Question

Consider:

namespace WindowsApplication1
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            //int[] val = { 0, 0};
            int val;
            if (textBox1.Text == "")
            {
                MessageBox.Show("Input any no");
            }
            else
            {
                val = Convert.ToInt32(textBox1.Text);
                Thread ot1 = new Thread(new ParameterizedThreadStart(SumData));
                ot1.Start(val);
            }
        }

        private static void ReadData(object state)
        {
            System.Windows.Forms.Application.Run();
        }

        void setTextboxText(int result)
        {
            if (this.InvokeRequired)
            {
                this.Invoke(new IntDelegate(SetTextboxTextSafe), new object[] { result });
            }
            else
            {
                SetTextboxTextSafe(result);
            }
        }

        void SetTextboxTextSafe(int result)
        {
            label1.Text = result.ToString();
        }

        private static void SumData(object state)
        {
            int result;
            //int[] icount = (int[])state;
            int icount = (int)state;

            for (int i = icount; i > 0; i--)
            {
                result += i;
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
            }
            setTextboxText(result);
        }

        delegate void IntDelegate(int result);

        private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            Application.Exit();
        }
    }
}

Why is this error occurring?

An object reference is required for the nonstatic field, method, or property 'WindowsApplication1.Form1.setTextboxText(int)

Answer 1

It looks like you are calling a non static member (a property or method, specifically setTextboxText) from a static method (specifically SumData). You will need to either:

1. Make the called member static also:

   static void setTextboxText(int result)
   {
       // Write static logic for setTextboxText.  
       // This may require a static singleton instance of Form1.
   }
   

2. Create an instance of Form1 within the calling method:

   private static void SumData(object state)
   {
       int result = 0;
       //int[] icount = (int[])state;
       int icount = (int)state;
   
       for (int i = icount; i > 0; i--)
       {
           result += i;
           System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
       }
       Form1 frm1 = new Form1();
       frm1.setTextboxText(result);
   }
   

   Passing in an instance of Form1 would be an option also.

3. Make the calling method a non-static instance method (of Form1):

   private void SumData(object state)
   {
       int result = 0;
       //int[] icount = (int[])state;
       int icount = (int)state;
   
       for (int i = icount; i > 0; i--)
       {
           result += i;
           System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);
       }
       setTextboxText(result);
   }
   

More info about this error can be found on MSDN.

Answer 2

For this case, where you want to get a Control of a Form and are receiving this error, then I have a little bypass for you.

Go to your Program.cs and change

Application.Run(new Form1());

to

public static Form1 form1 = new Form1(); // Place this var out of the constructor
Application.Run(form1);

Now you can access a control with

Program.form1.<Your control>

Also: Don't forget to set your Control-Access-Level to Public.

And yes I know, this answer does not fit to the question caller, but it fits to googlers who have this specific issue with controls.

Answer 3

You start a thread which runs the static method SumData. However, SumData calls SetTextboxText which isn't static. Thus you need an instance of your form to call SetTextboxText.

Answer 4

Your method must be static

static void setTextboxText(int result)
{
    if (this.InvokeRequired)
    {
        this.Invoke(new IntDelegate(SetTextboxTextSafe), new object[] { result }); 
    }
    else
    {
        SetTextboxTextSafe(result);
    }
}

Answer 5

Credit to @COOLGAMETUBE for tipping me off to what ended up working for me. His idea was good but I had a problem when Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault was called after the form was already created. So with a little change, this is working for me:

static class Program
{
    public static Form1 form1; // = new Form1(); // Place this var out of the constructor

    /// <summary>
    /// The main entry point for the application.
    /// </summary>
    [STAThread]
    static void Main()
    {
        Application.EnableVisualStyles();
        Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
        Application.Run(form1 = new Form1());
    }
}

Answer 6

From my looking you give a null value to a textbox and return in a ToString() as it is a static method. You can replace it with Convert.ToString() that can enable null value.

Answer 7

I actually got this error because I was checking InnerHtml for some content that was generated dynamically - i.e. a control that is runat=server.

To solve this I had to remove the "static" keyword on my method, and it ran fine.

Answer 8

The essence, and solution, to your problem is this:

using System;

namespace myNameSpace
{
    class Program
    {
        private void method()
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
        }

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            method();//<-- Compile Time error because an instantiation of the Program class doesnt exist
            Program p = new Program();
            p.method();//Now it works. (You could also make method() static to get it to work)
        }
    }
}