ASP.NET MVC: No parameterless constructor defined

Question

Server Error in '/' Application.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No parameterless constructor defined for this object. 
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code. 

Exception Details: System.MissingMethodException: No parameterless constructor defined for this object.

Source Error: 


Line 16:             HttpContext.Current.RewritePath(Request.ApplicationPath, false);
Line 17:             IHttpHandler httpHandler = new MvcHttpHandler();
Line 18:             httpHandler.ProcessRequest(HttpContext.Current);
Line 19:             HttpContext.Current.RewritePath(originalPath, false);
Line 20:         }

I was following Steven Sanderson's 'Pro ASP.NET MVC Framework' book. On page 132, in accordance with the author's recommendation, I downloaded the ASP.NET MVC Futures assembly, and added it to my MVC project. [Note: This could be a red herring.]

After this, I could no longer load my project. The above error stopped me cold.

My question is not, "Could you help me fix my code?"

Instead, I'd like to know more generally:

• How should I troubleshoot this issue?
• What should I be looking for?
• What might the root cause be?

It seems like I should understand routing and controllers at a deeper level than I do now.

Answer 1

This error started for me when I added a new way to instantiate a class.

Example:

    public class myClass
    {
         public string id{ get; set; }
         public List<string> myList{get; set;}

         // error happened after I added this
         public myClass(string id, List<string> lst)
         {
             this.id= id;
             this.myList= lst;
         }
     }

The error was resolved when I added when I made this change, adding a parameterless constructor. I believe the compiler creates a parameterless constuctor by default but if you add your own then you must explicitly create it.

    public class myClass
    {
         public string id{ get; set; }
         public List<string> myList{get; set;}

         // error doesn't happen when I add this
         public myClass() { }

         // error happened after I added this, but no longer happens after adding above
         public myClass(string id, List<string> lst)
         {
             this.id= id;
             this.myList= lst;
         }
     }