Question

See the question in code:

class commonParent {
     protected string name;
}

class child1:commonParent{
    // do some stuff
}

class child2:commonParent{
   // do some stuff

   protected void test(){
       child1 myChild1 = new child1();

       //is it possible to access myChild1.name in child2 without 
       //declaring the name public or internal?

      // I want to do something like this:
      string oldName = myChild1.name;

      //but I got the error:
      //Error   46  Cannot access protected member 'commonParent.name' 
      //via a qualifier of type 'child1'; the qualifier must be of 
      //type 'child2' (or derived from it)  
   }
}

The field “name” is only used by all children of commonParent class. I want to hide this field from outside (classes not derived from commonParent) while leaving it accessible within the scope of commonParent and its children.

Answer 1

Read following blog post by Eric Lippert,

• Why Can’t I Access A Protected Member From A Derived Class?

try to use protected internal it will work