Question

Why does this code not work if called within a new thread? The error returned is Object reference not set to an instance of an object. on the

return pb.GetPropertyValue("Name").ToString();

this works

GetFullName(m);

while this doesnt

Thread t = new Thread(GetFullName);
t.IsBackground = true;
t.Start();

public string GetFullName(string username)
{
    ProfileBase pb = ProfileBase.Create(username);
    return pb.GetPropertyValue("Name").ToString();
}

Answer 1

Maybe this is because the HttpContext.Current is not available in the new thread (which is to be expected).

I recommend that you extract the necessary data on your “main thread” (the one that is serving the request) and pass it manually to the new thread.

Edit: If you want to transfer the HttpContext, it works like this:

HttpContext ctx = HttpContext.Current;

Thread t = new Thread((string username) => {
    HttpContext.Current = ctx;
    GetFullName(userName);
});
t.IsBackground = true;
t.Start();

public string GetFullName(string username)
{
    ProfileBase pb = ProfileBase.Create(username);
    return pb.GetPropertyValue("Name").ToString();
}