如何使C＃“使用”别名公开，以避免“不一致的可访问性”错误？

Question

I have a C# class that defines a few aliases with the using keyword for some public properties. This leads to "inconsistent accessibility" compiler errors since apparently the types defined by the aliases are not public. How can I make the types defined by the aliases public too so the error goes away?

// Alias defined at the top of the source file just below the other "using"
//  "using" statements that bring in the needed modules.
using TDynamicStringArray = System.Collections.Generic.List<string>;

// Public property defined with the type alias.
public TDynamicStringArray Strs
{
    ...
}

Here is the Error received from the compiler:

Error   2   Inconsistent accessibility: property type 'TDynamicStringArray' is less accessible than property 'Strs'

I tried putting public in front of using but that doesn't work. I looked at several other SO threads on the topic of "inconsistent accessibility" but did not see any that dealt with type aliases created with the using keyword.

The reason I am using the alias is because I am converting some old code from another language, and it simplifies the conversion process. Otherwise I would just use the underlying type without the alias.

Answer 1

No, you can't change type's accessibility through any other mechanism but changing type itself.

If you can't modify source for the type your only option is to wrap it in your custom public type.

Answer 2

Aliases don't define types; they just refer to an existing type. There is no accessiblity associated with an alias.

In your example, List<string> is public, and you shouldn't get that error message. My guess is that you have a non-public TDynamicStringArray class somewhere, and the alias doesn't get used at all.