Question

Can someone please explain why this doesn’t work?

MyClass myClass1 = new MyClass();
object obj = myClass1;
MyClass myClass2 = obj; <-- error

If obj “points” to the same block of memory of type MyClass, then why can I not “point” myClass2 to the same block of memory on the last line?

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

The type of myClass2 is “MyClass“. You can assign to it any value that is of a type that is, or derives from, MyClass. object is not and does not derive from MyClass, so you need a cast.

If it were able to do this implicitly, what would happen if you did it with an object that is not really a MyClass?