What is a NullReferenceException, and how do I fix

Question

I have some code and when it executes, it throws a NullReferenceException, saying:

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

What does this mean, and what can I do to fix this error?

Answer 1

It means your code used an object reference variable that was set to null (i.e. it did not reference an actual object instance).

To prevent the error, objects that could be null should be tested for null before being used.

if (myvar != null)
{
    // Go ahead and use myvar
    myvar.property = ...
}
else
{
    // Whoops! myvar is null and cannot be used without first
    // assigning it to an instance reference
    // Attempting to use myvar here will result in NullReferenceException
}

Answer 2

If you have not initialized a reference type, and you want to set or read one of its properties, it will throw a NullReferenceException.

Example:

Person p = null;
p.Name = "Harry"; // NullReferenceException occurs here.

You can simply avoid this by checking if the variable is not null:

Person p = null;
if (p!=null)
{
    p.Name = "Harry"; // Not going to run to this point
}

To fully understand why a NullReferenceException is thrown, it is important to know the difference between value types and reference types.

So, if you're dealing with value types, NullReferenceExceptions can not occur. Though you need to keep alert when dealing with reference types!

Only reference types, as the name is suggesting, can hold references or point literally to nothing (or 'null'). Whereas value types always contain a value.

Reference types (these ones must be checked):

• dynamic
• object
• string

Value types (you can simply ignore these ones):

• Numeric types
• Integral types
• Floating-point types
• decimal
• bool
• User defined structs

Answer 3

An example of this exception being thrown is: When you are trying to check something, that is null.

For example:

string testString = null; //Because it doesn't have a value (i.e. it's null; "Length" cannot do what it needs to do)

if (testString.Length == 0) // Throws a nullreferenceexception
{
    //Do something
} 

The .NET runtime will throw a NullReferenceException when you attempt to perform an action on something which hasn't been instantiated i.e. the code above.

In comparison to an ArgumentNullException which is typically thrown as a defensive measure if a method expects that what is being passed to it is not null.

More information is in C# NullReferenceException and Null Parameter.

Answer 4

It means that the variable in question is pointed at nothing. I could generate this like so:

SqlConnection connection = null;
connection.Open();

That will throw the error because while I've declared the variable "connection", it's not pointed to anything. When I try to call the member "Open", there's no reference for it to resolve, and it will throw the error.

To avoid this error:

1. Always initialize your objects before you try to do anything with them.
2. If you're not sure whether the object is null, check it with object == null.

JetBrains' Resharper tool will identify every place in your code that has the possibility of a null reference error, allowing you to put in a null check. This error is the number one source of bugs, IMHO.

Answer 5

You are using the object that contains the null value reference. So it's giving a null exception. In the example the string value is null and when checking its length, the exception occurred.

Example:

string value = null;
if (value.Length == 0) // <-- Causes exception
{
    Console.WriteLine(value); // <-- Never reached
}

The exception error is:

Unhandled Exception:

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at Program.Main()

Answer 6

NullReferenceException or Object reference not set to an instance of an object occurs when an object of the class you are trying to use is not instantiated. For example:

Assume that you have a class named Student.

public class Student
{
    private string FirstName;
    private string LastName;
    public string GetFullName()
    {
        return FirstName + LastName;
    }
}

Now, consider another class where you are trying to retrieve the student's full name.

public class StudentInfo
{      
    public string GetStudentName()
    {
        Student s;
        string fullname = s.GetFullName();
        return fullname;
    }        
}

As seen in the above code, the statement Student s - only declares the variable of type Student, note that the Student class is not instantiated at this point. Hence, when the statement s.GetFullName() gets executed, it will throw the NullReferenceException.