C# Compiler Error Message
CS0050 – Inconsistent accessibility: return type ‘type’ is less accessible than method ‘method’
Reason for the Error
You will receive the error CS0050 when you have a class or method that is usually not accessible and you are trying to return an object of that class from a method or function. A simple example of this error is when the class has no access modifier specified or is marked as private.
Let’s have a look at an example.
Below is a code snippet in C# that has a class called Student which doesnot have any access modifier specified. By default, it is private.
class Student
{
}
public class DeveloperPublish
{
// This results with CS0050 error
public static Student GetStudent()
{
return new Student();
}
public static void Main() {
}
}You are trying to return the Student object from the method GetStudent from DeveloperPublish which would result with the below error.
Error CS0050 Inconsistent accessibility: return type ‘Student’ is less accessible than method ‘DeveloperPublish.GetStudent()’ ConsoleApp1 C:\Users\Senthil\source\repos\ConsoleApp1\ConsoleApp1\Program.cs
Solution
To fix this issue, ensure that the class you are trying to return from the method has the right access modifier(public) instead of private.
