Compiler Error CS0542

'user-defined type': member names cannot be the same as their enclosing type

The members of a class or struct cannot have the same name as the class or struct, unless the member is a constructor.

The following sample generates CS0542:

// CS0542.cs
class C
{
    public int C;
}

This error might be caused if you inadvertently put a return type on a constructor, which in effect makes it into an ordinary method. The following example generates CS0542 because F is a method, not a constructor, because it has a return type:

// CS0542.cs
class F
{
   // Remove void from F() to resolve the problem.
   void F()   // CS0542, same name as the class
   {
   }
}

class MyClass
{
   public static void Main()
   {
   }
}

If your class is named 'Item' and has an indexer declared as this, you may get this error. A default indexer is given the name 'Item' in the emitted code, creating the conflict.

// CS0542b.cs
class Item
{
   public int this[int i]  // CS0542
   {
      get
      {
         return 0;
      }
   }
}

class CMain
{
   public static void Main()
   {
   }
}

Change History

Date	History	Reason
September 2008	Added introductory information and an example.	Customer feedback.