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Invoke event from unknown control [duplicate]

I have a class, EventContainer.cs, which contains an event, say:
public event EventHandler AfterSearch;
I have another class, EventRaiser.cs. How do I raise (and not handle) the above said event from this class?
The raised event will in turn call the handler of the event in the EventContainer class. Something like this (this is obviously not correct):
EventContainer obj = new EventContainer();
RaiseEvent(obj.AfterSearch);

This is not possible, Events can only be risen from inside the class. If you could do that, it would defeat the purpose of events (being able to rise status changes from inside the class). I think you are misunderstanding the function of events - an event is defined inside a class and others can subscribe to it by doing
obj.AfterSearch += handler; (where handler is a method according to the signature of AfterSearch). One is able to subscribe to the event from the outside just fine, but it can only be risen from inside the class defining it.

It is POSSIBLE, but using clever hack.
Inspired by http://netpl.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-net-type-safe.html
If you don't believe, try this code.
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace Overlapping
{
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
public class OverlapEvents
{
[FieldOffset(0)]
public Foo Source;
[FieldOffset(0)]
public OtherFoo Target;
}
public class Foo
{
public event EventHandler Clicked;
public override string ToString()
{
return "Hello Foo";
}
public void Click()
{
InvokeClicked(EventArgs.Empty);
}
private void InvokeClicked(EventArgs e)
{
var handler = Clicked;
if (handler != null)
handler(this, e);
}
}
public class OtherFoo
{
public event EventHandler Clicked;
public override string ToString()
{
return "Hello OtherFoo";
}
public void Click2()
{
InvokeClicked(EventArgs.Empty);
}
private void InvokeClicked(EventArgs e)
{
var handler = Clicked;
if (handler != null)
handler(this, e);
}
public void Clean()
{
Clicked = null;
}
}
class Test
{
public static void Test3()
{
var a = new Foo();
a.Clicked += AClicked;
a.Click();
var o = new OverlapEvents { Source = a };
o.Target.Click2();
o.Target.Clean();
o.Target.Click2();
a.Click();
}
static void AClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine(sender.ToString());
}
}
}

You can write a public method on the class you want the event to fire from and fire the event when it is called. You can then call this method from whatever user of your class.
Of course, this ruins encapsulation and is bad design.

It looks like you're using the Delegate pattern. In this case, the AfterSearch event should be defined on the EventRaiser class, and the EventContainer class should consume the event:
In EventRaiser.cs
public event EventHandler BeforeSearch;
public event EventHandler AfterSearch;
public void ExecuteSearch(...)
{
if (this.BeforeSearch != null)
this.BeforeSearch();
// Do search
if (this.AfterSearch != null)
this.AfterSearch();
}
In EventContainer.cs
public EventContainer(...)
{
EventRaiser er = new EventRaiser();
er.AfterSearch += this.OnAfterSearch;
}
public void OnAfterSearch()
{
// Handle AfterSearch event
}

I stumbled across this problem as well, because i was experimenting with calling PropertyChanged events from outside. So you dont have to implement everything in every class. The solution from halorty wouldn't work using interfaces.
I found a solution working using heavy reflection. It is surely slow and is breaking the principle that events should only be called from inside a class. But it is interesting to find a generic solution to this problem....
It works because every event is a list of invocation methods being called.
So we can get the invocation list and call every listener attached to that event by our own.
Here you go....
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var instance = new TestPropertyChanged();
instance.PropertyChanged += PropertyChanged;
instance.RaiseEvent(nameof(INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged), new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Hi There from anywhere"));
Console.ReadLine();
}
private static void PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.PropertyName);
}
}
public static class PropertyRaiser
{
private static readonly BindingFlags staticFlags = BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic;
public static void RaiseEvent(this object instance, string eventName, EventArgs e)
{
var type = instance.GetType();
var eventField = type.GetField(eventName, staticFlags);
if (eventField == null)
throw new Exception($"Event with name {eventName} could not be found.");
var multicastDelegate = eventField.GetValue(instance) as MulticastDelegate;
if (multicastDelegate == null)
return;
var invocationList = multicastDelegate.GetInvocationList();
foreach (var invocationMethod in invocationList)
invocationMethod.DynamicInvoke(new[] {instance, e});
}
}
public class TestPropertyChanged : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}

There is good way to do this. Every event in C# has a delegate that specifies the sign of methods for that event. Define a field in your external class with type of your event delegate. get the the reference of that field in the constructor of external class and save it. In main class of your event, send the reference of event for delegate of external class. Now you can easily call the delegate in your external class.
public delegate void MyEventHandler(object Sender, EventArgs Args);
public class MyMain
{
public event MyEventHandler MyEvent;
...
new MyExternal(this.MyEvent);
...
}
public MyExternal
{
private MyEventHandler MyEvent;
public MyExternal(MyEventHandler MyEvent)
{
this.MyEvent = MyEvent;
}
...
this.MyEvent(..., ...);
...
}

Agree with Femaref -- and note this is an important difference between delegates and events (see for example this blog entry for an good discussion of this and other differences).
Depending on what you want to achieve, you might be better off with a delegate.

Not a good programming but if you want to do that any way you can do something like this
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Extension ext = new Extension();
ext.MyEvent += ext_MyEvent;
ext.Dosomething();
}
static void ext_MyEvent(int num)
{
Console.WriteLine(num);
}
}
public class Extension
{
public delegate void MyEventHandler(int num);
public event MyEventHandler MyEvent;
public void Dosomething()
{
int no = 0;
while(true){
if(MyEvent!=null){
MyEvent(++no);
}
}
}
}

I had a similar confusion and honestly find the answers here to be confusing. Although a couple hinted at solutions that I would later find would work.
My solution was to hit the books and become more familiar with delegates and event handlers.
Although I've used both for many years, I was never intimately familiar with them.
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/20550/C-Event-Implementation-Fundamentals-Best-Practices
gives the best explanation of both delegates and event handlers that I've ever read and clearly explains that a class can be a publisher of events and have other classes consume them.
This article: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/12285/Implementing-an-event-which-supports-only-a-single discusses how to single-cast events to only one handler since delegates are multicast by definition . A delegate inherits system.MulticastDelegate most including the system delegates are Multicast.
I found that multicast meant that any event handler with the same signature would receive the raised event. Multicast behavior has caused me some sleepless nights as I stepped through code and saw my event seemingly erroneously being sent to handlers that I had no intention of getting this event. Both articles explains this behavior.
The second article shows you one way, and the first article shows you another, by making the delegate and the signature tightly typed.
I personally believe strong typing prevents stupid bugs that can be a pain to find. So I'd vote for the first article, even though I got the second article code working. I was just curious. :-)
I also got curious if I could get #2 articles code to behave like how I interpreted the original question above. Regardless of your chosen approach or if I'm also misinterpreting the original question, my real message is that I still think you would benefit from reading the first article as I did, especially if the questions or answers on this page leave you confused. If you are having multicast nightmares and need a quick solution then article 2 may help you.
I started playing with the second article's eventRaiser class. I made a simple windows form project.
I added the second articles class EventRaiser.cs to my project.
In the Main form's code, I defined a reference to that EventRaiser class at the top as
private EventRaiser eventRaiser = new EventRaiser();
I added a method in the main form code that I wanted to be called when the event was fired
protected void MainResponse( object sender, EventArgs eArgs )
{
MessageBox.Show("got to MainResponse");
}
then in the main form's constructor I added the event assignment:
eventRaiser.OnRaiseEvent += new EventHandler(MainResponse);`
I then created a class that would be instantiated by my main form called "SimpleClass" for lack of creative ingenuity at the moment.
Then I added a button and in the button's click event
I instantiated the SimpleClass code I wanted to raise an event from:
private void button1_Click( object sender, EventArgs e )
{
SimpleClass sc = new SimpleClass(eventRaiser);
}
Note the instance of "eventRaiser" that I passed to SimpleClass.cs. That was defined and instantiated earlier in the Main form code.
In the SimpleClass:
using System.Windows.Forms;
using SinglecastEvent; // see SingleCastEvent Project for info or http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/12285/Implementing-an-event-which-supports-only-a-single
namespace GenericTest
{
public class SimpleClass
{
private EventRaiser eventRaiser = new EventRaiser();
public SimpleClass( EventRaiser ev )
{
eventRaiser = ev;
simpleMethod();
}
private void simpleMethod()
{
MessageBox.Show("in FileWatcher.simple() about to raise the event");
eventRaiser.RaiseEvent();
}
}
}
The only point to the private method I called SimpleMethod was to verify that a privately scoped method could still raise the event, not that I doubted it, but I like to be positive.
I ran the project and this resulted in raising the event from the "simpleMethod" of the "SimpleClass" up to the main form and going to the expected correct method called MainResponse proving that one class can indeed raise an event that is consumed by a different class.
Yes the event has to be raised from within the class that needs it's change broadcast to other classes that care. Receiving classes can be one class or many many classes depending on how strongly typed you defined them or by making them single cast as in 2nd article.
Hope this helps and not muddy the water. Personally I've got a lot of delegates and events to clean up! Multicast demons begone!

The raising class has to get a fresh copy of the EventHandler.
One possible solution below.
using System;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
class HasEvent
{
public event EventHandler OnEnvent;
EventInvoker myInvoker;
public HasEvent()
{
myInvoker = new EventInvoker(this, () => OnEnvent);
}
public void MyInvokerRaising() {
myInvoker.Raise();
}
}
class EventInvoker
{
private Func<EventHandler> GetEventHandler;
private object sender;
public EventInvoker(object sender, Func<EventHandler> GetEventHandler)
{
this.sender = sender;
this.GetEventHandler = GetEventHandler;
}
public void Raise()
{
if(null != GetEventHandler())
{
GetEventHandler()(sender, new EventArgs());
}
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
HasEvent h = new HasEvent();
h.OnEnvent += H_OnEnvent;
h.MyInvokerRaising();
}
private static void H_OnEnvent(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("FIRED");
}
}
}

Use public EventHandler AfterSearch;
not
public event EventHandler AfterSearch;
Use a Delegate (an Action or Func) instead of an event. An event is essentially a delegate that can only be triggered from within the class.

I took a slightly different approach in solving this problem. My solution consisted of a winform front end, a main Class Library (DLL) and within that dll, a secondary working class:
WinForm
|------> PickGen Library
|---------> Allocations class
What I decided to do is to create events in the main dll (PickGen) that the Allocations class could call, then those event methods would called the events within the UI.
So, allocations raises an event in PickGen which takes the parameter values and raises the event in the form. From a code standpoint, this is in the lowest class:
public delegate void AllocationService_RaiseAllocLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
public delegate void AllocationService_RaiseAllocErrorLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
public class AllocationService { ...
public event AllocationService_RaiseAllocLog RaiseAllocLog;
public event AllocationService_RaiseAllocErrorLog RaiseAllocErrorLog;
then later in the subclass code:
RaiseAllocErrorLog(SOHNUM_0, ShipmentGenerated + ": Allocated line QTY was: " + allocatedline.QTY_0 + ", Delivered was: " + QTY_0 + ". Problem batch.", false);
In the main DLL Class library I have these two event methods:
private void PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool updateDB)
{
RaiseLog(orderNumber, message, false);
}
private void PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocErrorLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool updateDB)
{
RaiseErrorLog(orderNumber, message, false);
}
and I make the connection here when I create the allocation object:
AllocationService allsvc = new AllocationService(PickResult);
allsvc.RaiseAllocLog += new AllocationService_RaiseAllocLog(PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocLog);
allsvc.RaiseAllocErrorLog += new AllocationService_RaiseAllocErrorLog(PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocErrorLog);
and I also then have delegates that are set up to tie the main class with the winform code:
public delegate void JPPAPickGenLibrary_RaiseLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
public delegate void JPPAPickGenLibrary_RaiseErrorLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
It may not be the most elegant way to do it, but in the end, it does work and without being too obscure.

A nested class with an instance of the outer class provided in the constructor can access even private members of the outer class. As explained more here: stackoverflow question on inner classes.
This includes the ability to raise events in the outer class. This EventRaisers class could be internal, or otherwise controlled somehow, because it could technically otherwise be created by any script with a reference to the outer class instance.

Very simple example. i like to do it this way using EventHandler.
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
MyExtension ext = new MyExtension();
ext.MyEvent += ext_MyEvent;
ext.Dosomething();
Console.ReadLine();
}
static void ext_MyEvent(object sender, int num)
{
Console.WriteLine("Event fired.... "+num);
}
}
public class MyExtension
{
public event EventHandler<int> MyEvent;
public void Dosomething()
{
int no = 1;
if (MyEvent != null)
MyEvent(this, ++no);
}
}
}

Raise an event of a class from a different class in C#

I have a class, EventContainer.cs, which contains an event, say:
public event EventHandler AfterSearch;
I have another class, EventRaiser.cs. How do I raise (and not handle) the above said event from this class?
The raised event will in turn call the handler of the event in the EventContainer class. Something like this (this is obviously not correct):
EventContainer obj = new EventContainer();
RaiseEvent(obj.AfterSearch);

This is not possible, Events can only be risen from inside the class. If you could do that, it would defeat the purpose of events (being able to rise status changes from inside the class). I think you are misunderstanding the function of events - an event is defined inside a class and others can subscribe to it by doing
obj.AfterSearch += handler; (where handler is a method according to the signature of AfterSearch). One is able to subscribe to the event from the outside just fine, but it can only be risen from inside the class defining it.

It is POSSIBLE, but using clever hack.
Inspired by http://netpl.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-net-type-safe.html
If you don't believe, try this code.
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace Overlapping
{
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Explicit)]
public class OverlapEvents
{
[FieldOffset(0)]
public Foo Source;
[FieldOffset(0)]
public OtherFoo Target;
}
public class Foo
{
public event EventHandler Clicked;
public override string ToString()
{
return "Hello Foo";
}
public void Click()
{
InvokeClicked(EventArgs.Empty);
}
private void InvokeClicked(EventArgs e)
{
var handler = Clicked;
if (handler != null)
handler(this, e);
}
}
public class OtherFoo
{
public event EventHandler Clicked;
public override string ToString()
{
return "Hello OtherFoo";
}
public void Click2()
{
InvokeClicked(EventArgs.Empty);
}
private void InvokeClicked(EventArgs e)
{
var handler = Clicked;
if (handler != null)
handler(this, e);
}
public void Clean()
{
Clicked = null;
}
}
class Test
{
public static void Test3()
{
var a = new Foo();
a.Clicked += AClicked;
a.Click();
var o = new OverlapEvents { Source = a };
o.Target.Click2();
o.Target.Clean();
o.Target.Click2();
a.Click();
}
static void AClicked(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine(sender.ToString());
}
}
}

You can write a public method on the class you want the event to fire from and fire the event when it is called. You can then call this method from whatever user of your class.
Of course, this ruins encapsulation and is bad design.

It looks like you're using the Delegate pattern. In this case, the AfterSearch event should be defined on the EventRaiser class, and the EventContainer class should consume the event:
In EventRaiser.cs
public event EventHandler BeforeSearch;
public event EventHandler AfterSearch;
public void ExecuteSearch(...)
{
if (this.BeforeSearch != null)
this.BeforeSearch();
// Do search
if (this.AfterSearch != null)
this.AfterSearch();
}
In EventContainer.cs
public EventContainer(...)
{
EventRaiser er = new EventRaiser();
er.AfterSearch += this.OnAfterSearch;
}
public void OnAfterSearch()
{
// Handle AfterSearch event
}

I stumbled across this problem as well, because i was experimenting with calling PropertyChanged events from outside. So you dont have to implement everything in every class. The solution from halorty wouldn't work using interfaces.
I found a solution working using heavy reflection. It is surely slow and is breaking the principle that events should only be called from inside a class. But it is interesting to find a generic solution to this problem....
It works because every event is a list of invocation methods being called.
So we can get the invocation list and call every listener attached to that event by our own.
Here you go....
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var instance = new TestPropertyChanged();
instance.PropertyChanged += PropertyChanged;
instance.RaiseEvent(nameof(INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged), new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Hi There from anywhere"));
Console.ReadLine();
}
private static void PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.PropertyName);
}
}
public static class PropertyRaiser
{
private static readonly BindingFlags staticFlags = BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic;
public static void RaiseEvent(this object instance, string eventName, EventArgs e)
{
var type = instance.GetType();
var eventField = type.GetField(eventName, staticFlags);
if (eventField == null)
throw new Exception($"Event with name {eventName} could not be found.");
var multicastDelegate = eventField.GetValue(instance) as MulticastDelegate;
if (multicastDelegate == null)
return;
var invocationList = multicastDelegate.GetInvocationList();
foreach (var invocationMethod in invocationList)
invocationMethod.DynamicInvoke(new[] {instance, e});
}
}
public class TestPropertyChanged : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}

There is good way to do this. Every event in C# has a delegate that specifies the sign of methods for that event. Define a field in your external class with type of your event delegate. get the the reference of that field in the constructor of external class and save it. In main class of your event, send the reference of event for delegate of external class. Now you can easily call the delegate in your external class.
public delegate void MyEventHandler(object Sender, EventArgs Args);
public class MyMain
{
public event MyEventHandler MyEvent;
...
new MyExternal(this.MyEvent);
...
}
public MyExternal
{
private MyEventHandler MyEvent;
public MyExternal(MyEventHandler MyEvent)
{
this.MyEvent = MyEvent;
}
...
this.MyEvent(..., ...);
...
}

Agree with Femaref -- and note this is an important difference between delegates and events (see for example this blog entry for an good discussion of this and other differences).
Depending on what you want to achieve, you might be better off with a delegate.

Not a good programming but if you want to do that any way you can do something like this
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Extension ext = new Extension();
ext.MyEvent += ext_MyEvent;
ext.Dosomething();
}
static void ext_MyEvent(int num)
{
Console.WriteLine(num);
}
}
public class Extension
{
public delegate void MyEventHandler(int num);
public event MyEventHandler MyEvent;
public void Dosomething()
{
int no = 0;
while(true){
if(MyEvent!=null){
MyEvent(++no);
}
}
}
}

I had a similar confusion and honestly find the answers here to be confusing. Although a couple hinted at solutions that I would later find would work.
My solution was to hit the books and become more familiar with delegates and event handlers.
Although I've used both for many years, I was never intimately familiar with them.
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/20550/C-Event-Implementation-Fundamentals-Best-Practices
gives the best explanation of both delegates and event handlers that I've ever read and clearly explains that a class can be a publisher of events and have other classes consume them.
This article: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/12285/Implementing-an-event-which-supports-only-a-single discusses how to single-cast events to only one handler since delegates are multicast by definition . A delegate inherits system.MulticastDelegate most including the system delegates are Multicast.
I found that multicast meant that any event handler with the same signature would receive the raised event. Multicast behavior has caused me some sleepless nights as I stepped through code and saw my event seemingly erroneously being sent to handlers that I had no intention of getting this event. Both articles explains this behavior.
The second article shows you one way, and the first article shows you another, by making the delegate and the signature tightly typed.
I personally believe strong typing prevents stupid bugs that can be a pain to find. So I'd vote for the first article, even though I got the second article code working. I was just curious. :-)
I also got curious if I could get #2 articles code to behave like how I interpreted the original question above. Regardless of your chosen approach or if I'm also misinterpreting the original question, my real message is that I still think you would benefit from reading the first article as I did, especially if the questions or answers on this page leave you confused. If you are having multicast nightmares and need a quick solution then article 2 may help you.
I started playing with the second article's eventRaiser class. I made a simple windows form project.
I added the second articles class EventRaiser.cs to my project.
In the Main form's code, I defined a reference to that EventRaiser class at the top as
private EventRaiser eventRaiser = new EventRaiser();
I added a method in the main form code that I wanted to be called when the event was fired
protected void MainResponse( object sender, EventArgs eArgs )
{
MessageBox.Show("got to MainResponse");
}
then in the main form's constructor I added the event assignment:
eventRaiser.OnRaiseEvent += new EventHandler(MainResponse);`
I then created a class that would be instantiated by my main form called "SimpleClass" for lack of creative ingenuity at the moment.
Then I added a button and in the button's click event
I instantiated the SimpleClass code I wanted to raise an event from:
private void button1_Click( object sender, EventArgs e )
{
SimpleClass sc = new SimpleClass(eventRaiser);
}
Note the instance of "eventRaiser" that I passed to SimpleClass.cs. That was defined and instantiated earlier in the Main form code.
In the SimpleClass:
using System.Windows.Forms;
using SinglecastEvent; // see SingleCastEvent Project for info or http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/12285/Implementing-an-event-which-supports-only-a-single
namespace GenericTest
{
public class SimpleClass
{
private EventRaiser eventRaiser = new EventRaiser();
public SimpleClass( EventRaiser ev )
{
eventRaiser = ev;
simpleMethod();
}
private void simpleMethod()
{
MessageBox.Show("in FileWatcher.simple() about to raise the event");
eventRaiser.RaiseEvent();
}
}
}
The only point to the private method I called SimpleMethod was to verify that a privately scoped method could still raise the event, not that I doubted it, but I like to be positive.
I ran the project and this resulted in raising the event from the "simpleMethod" of the "SimpleClass" up to the main form and going to the expected correct method called MainResponse proving that one class can indeed raise an event that is consumed by a different class.
Yes the event has to be raised from within the class that needs it's change broadcast to other classes that care. Receiving classes can be one class or many many classes depending on how strongly typed you defined them or by making them single cast as in 2nd article.
Hope this helps and not muddy the water. Personally I've got a lot of delegates and events to clean up! Multicast demons begone!

The raising class has to get a fresh copy of the EventHandler.
One possible solution below.
using System;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
class HasEvent
{
public event EventHandler OnEnvent;
EventInvoker myInvoker;
public HasEvent()
{
myInvoker = new EventInvoker(this, () => OnEnvent);
}
public void MyInvokerRaising() {
myInvoker.Raise();
}
}
class EventInvoker
{
private Func<EventHandler> GetEventHandler;
private object sender;
public EventInvoker(object sender, Func<EventHandler> GetEventHandler)
{
this.sender = sender;
this.GetEventHandler = GetEventHandler;
}
public void Raise()
{
if(null != GetEventHandler())
{
GetEventHandler()(sender, new EventArgs());
}
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
HasEvent h = new HasEvent();
h.OnEnvent += H_OnEnvent;
h.MyInvokerRaising();
}
private static void H_OnEnvent(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("FIRED");
}
}
}

Use public EventHandler AfterSearch;
not
public event EventHandler AfterSearch;
Use a Delegate (an Action or Func) instead of an event. An event is essentially a delegate that can only be triggered from within the class.

I took a slightly different approach in solving this problem. My solution consisted of a winform front end, a main Class Library (DLL) and within that dll, a secondary working class:
WinForm
|------> PickGen Library
|---------> Allocations class
What I decided to do is to create events in the main dll (PickGen) that the Allocations class could call, then those event methods would called the events within the UI.
So, allocations raises an event in PickGen which takes the parameter values and raises the event in the form. From a code standpoint, this is in the lowest class:
public delegate void AllocationService_RaiseAllocLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
public delegate void AllocationService_RaiseAllocErrorLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
public class AllocationService { ...
public event AllocationService_RaiseAllocLog RaiseAllocLog;
public event AllocationService_RaiseAllocErrorLog RaiseAllocErrorLog;
then later in the subclass code:
RaiseAllocErrorLog(SOHNUM_0, ShipmentGenerated + ": Allocated line QTY was: " + allocatedline.QTY_0 + ", Delivered was: " + QTY_0 + ". Problem batch.", false);
In the main DLL Class library I have these two event methods:
private void PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool updateDB)
{
RaiseLog(orderNumber, message, false);
}
private void PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocErrorLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool updateDB)
{
RaiseErrorLog(orderNumber, message, false);
}
and I make the connection here when I create the allocation object:
AllocationService allsvc = new AllocationService(PickResult);
allsvc.RaiseAllocLog += new AllocationService_RaiseAllocLog(PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocLog);
allsvc.RaiseAllocErrorLog += new AllocationService_RaiseAllocErrorLog(PickGenLibrary_RaiseAllocErrorLog);
and I also then have delegates that are set up to tie the main class with the winform code:
public delegate void JPPAPickGenLibrary_RaiseLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
public delegate void JPPAPickGenLibrary_RaiseErrorLog(string orderNumber, string message, bool logToDatabase);
It may not be the most elegant way to do it, but in the end, it does work and without being too obscure.

A nested class with an instance of the outer class provided in the constructor can access even private members of the outer class. As explained more here: stackoverflow question on inner classes.
This includes the ability to raise events in the outer class. This EventRaisers class could be internal, or otherwise controlled somehow, because it could technically otherwise be created by any script with a reference to the outer class instance.

Very simple example. i like to do it this way using EventHandler.
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
MyExtension ext = new MyExtension();
ext.MyEvent += ext_MyEvent;
ext.Dosomething();
Console.ReadLine();
}
static void ext_MyEvent(object sender, int num)
{
Console.WriteLine("Event fired.... "+num);
}
}
public class MyExtension
{
public event EventHandler<int> MyEvent;
public void Dosomething()
{
int no = 1;
if (MyEvent != null)
MyEvent(this, ++no);
}
}
}

Treat events as objects

C# is still not OO enough? Here I'm giving a (maybe bad) example.
public class Program
{
public event EventHandler OnStart;
public static EventHandler LogOnStart = (s, e) => Console.WriteLine("starts");
public class MyCSharpProgram
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public event EventHandler OnStart;
public void Start()
{
OnStart(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
MyCSharpProgram cs = new MyCSharpProgram { Name = "C# test" };
cs.OnStart += LogOnStart; //can compile
//RegisterLogger(cs.OnStart); // Line of trouble
cs.Start(); // it prints "start" (of course it will :D)
Program p = new Program();
RegisterLogger(p.OnStart); //can compile
p.OnStart(p, EventArgs.Empty); //can compile, but NullReference at runtime
Console.Read();
}
static void RegisterLogger(EventHandler ev)
{
ev += LogOnStart;
}
}
RegisterLogger(cs.OnStart) leads to compile error, because "The event XXX can only appear on the left hand side of += or -= blabla". But why RegisterLogger(p.OnStart) can? Meanwhile, although I registered p.OnStart, it will also throw an NullReferenceException, seems that p.OnStart is not "really" passed to a method.

"The event XXX can only appear on the left hand side of += or -= blabla"
This is actually because C# is "OO enough." One of the core principles of OOP is encapsulation; events provide a form of this, just like properties: inside the declaring class they may be accessed directly, but outside they are only exposed to the += and -= operators. This is so that the declaring class is in complete control of when the events are called. Client code can only have a say in what happens when they are called.
The reason your code RegisterLogger(p.OnStart) compiles is that it is declared from within the scope of the Program class, where the Program.OnStart event is declared.
The reason your code RegisterLogger(cs.OnStart) does not compile is that it is declared from within the scope of the Program class, but the MyCSharpProgram.OnStart event is declared (obviously) within the MyCSharpProgram class.
As Chris Taylor points out, the reason you get a NullReferenceException on the line p.OnStart(p, EventArgs.Empty); is that calling RegisterLogger as you have it assigns a new value to a local variable, having no affect on the object to which that local variable was assigned when it was passed in as a parameter. To understand this better, consider the following code:
static void IncrementValue(int value)
{
value += 1;
}
int i = 0;
IncrementValue(i);
// Prints '0', because IncrementValue had no effect on i --
// a new value was assigned to the COPY of i that was passed in
Console.WriteLine(i);
Just as a method that takes an int as a parameter and assigns a new value to it only affects the local variable copied to its stack, a method that takes an EventHandler as a parameter and assigns a new value to it only affects its local variable as well (in an assignment).

Make the following change to RegisterLogger, declare ev as a reference argument to the event handler.
static void RegisterLogger(ref EventHandler ev)
{
ev += LogOnStart;
}
Then your call point will also need to use the 'ref' keyword when invoking the method as follows
RegisterLogger(ref p.OnStart);

The reason this fails to compile:
RegisterLogger(cs.OnStart);
... is that the event handler and the method you are passing it to are in different classes. C# treats events very strictly, and only allows the class that the event appears in to do anything other than add a handler (including pass it to functions, or invoke it).
For example, this won't compile either (because it is in a different class):
cs.OnStart(cs, EventArgs.Empty);
As for not being able to pass an event handler to a function this way, I'm not sure. I am guessing events operate like value types. Passing it by ref will fix your problem, though:
static void RegisterLogger(ref EventHandler ev)
{
ev += LogOnStart;
}

When an object declares an event, it only exposes methods to add and/or remove handlers to the event outside of the class (provided it doesn't redefine the add/remove operations). Within it, it is treated much like an "object" and works more or less like a declared delegate variable. If no handlers are added to the event, it's as if it were never initialized and is null. It is this way by design. Here is the typical pattern used in the framework:
public class MyCSharpProgram
{
// ...
// define the event
public event EventHandler SomeEvent;
// add a mechanism to "raise" the event
protected virtual void OnSomeEvent()
{
// SomeEvent is a "variable" to a EventHandler
if (SomeEvent != null)
SomeEvent(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
}
// etc...
Now if you must insist on exposing the delegate outside of your class, just don't define it as an event. You could then treat it as any other field or property.
I've modified your sample code to illustrate:
public class Program
{
public EventHandler OnStart;
public static EventHandler LogOnStart = (s, e) => Console.WriteLine("starts");
public class MyCSharpProgram
{
public string Name { get; set; }
// just a field to an EventHandler
public EventHandler OnStart = (s, e) => { /* do nothing */ }; // needs to be initialized to use "+=", "-=" or suppress null-checks
public void Start()
{
// always check if non-null
if (OnStart != null)
OnStart(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
MyCSharpProgram cs = new MyCSharpProgram { Name = "C# test" };
cs.OnStart += LogOnStart; //can compile
RegisterLogger(cs.OnStart); // should work now
cs.Start(); // it prints "start" (of course it will :D)
Program p = new Program();
RegisterLogger(p.OnStart); //can compile
p.OnStart(p, EventArgs.Empty); //can compile, but NullReference at runtime
Console.Read();
}
static void RegisterLogger(EventHandler ev)
{
// Program.OnStart not initialized so ev is null
if (ev != null) //null-check just in case
ev += LogOnStart;
}
}

Launch an event that has accessors

How can I launch an event that has accessors like this :
public event EventHandler CanExecuteChanged
{
add
{
CommandManager.RequerySuggested += value;
}
remove
{
CommandManager.RequerySuggested -= value;
}
}
If it were a normal event I would launch it by:
CanExecuteChanged(sender, EventArgs..).
But here it doesn't work - I can only do
CanExecuteChanged +=..
to attach a method do the event - but I can't Launch it.
Also some documentation on the subject would be appreciated.
Thanks.
EDIT
The event is from class implementing ICommand in WPF. there's nothing more to show :).
And no - the CommandManager.RequerySuggested(this, EventArgs.Empty); doesn't work.
EDIT2 Not sure what to say - Jon's example should have worked yet even if the add method is called correctly - when I try to call the event - it's null :|. I probably will
drop events with accessors.

I think you have events confused with delegates. Only the class exposing the event can raise it... Others can only subscribe-unsubscribe to it. If you are invoking the event from within the class declaring the event, it should work like a regular delegate.
The best page I could find on Events vs Delegates. Read up..
Can you post a bigger snippet.. something seems amiss..
Killer Update
I think I finally see your problem and how to solve it.
Short Answer: It does not know the name of delegate to invoke if you write your own accessors. If you don't.. the compiler adds the private delegate of known name and hence is able to invoke it
This code snippet shows what I mean. This MSDN article showed me the light. Great question dude.. I lost 30 mins. Upvoted :)
public class Hash1
{
private EventHandler myHomeMadeDelegate;
public event EventHandler FancyEvent
{
add
{
//myDelegate += value;
myHomeMadeDelegate = (EventHandler)Delegate.Combine(myHomeMadeDelegate, value);
}
remove
{
//myDelegate -= value;
myHomeMadeDelegate = (EventHandler)Delegate.Remove(myHomeMadeDelegate, value);
}
}
public event EventHandler PlainEvent;
public Hash1()
{
FancyEvent += new EventHandler(On_Hash1_FancyEvent);
PlainEvent += new EventHandler(On_Hash1_PlainEvent);
// FancyEvent(this, EventArgs.Empty); //won't work:What is the backing delegate called? I don't know
myHomeMadeDelegate(this, EventArgs.Empty); // Aha!
PlainEvent(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
void On_Hash1_PlainEvent(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Bang Bang!");
}
void On_Hash1_FancyEvent(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Bang!");
}
}

That event is just subscribing to and unsubscribing from another event. If you want your subscribers (and only your subscribers - not separate ones to the other event) to be invoked, you'll need to keep hold of your subscribers separately. For instance, you could change the code to something like:
private EventHandler canExecuteChanged;
public event EventHandler CanExecuteChanged
{
add
{
CommandManager.RequerySuggested += value;
canExecuteChanged += value;
}
remove
{
CommandManager.RequerySuggested -= value;
canExecuteChanged -= value;
}
}

Ok, I found that if I want to trigger that event you have to do :
CommandManager.InvalidateRequerySuggested();.

You've got to invoke the underlying events directly. In your case, it looks as though this would be:
<blockquote>CommandManager.RequerySuggested(sender, EventArgs.…)</blockquote>
/EDIT: Ok, I didn't notice that CommandManager is a framework class. In this case, you obviously don't want to do what I've proposed. Jon's solution is to the point: You've got to keep track of your own event and invoke that (e.g. as a delegate). In keeping with Jon's example, invocation would look like this:
canExecuteChanged(sender, EventArgs.Empty);

wow, just had similar problems. The answer that helped me understand is somewhat like Gishu's.
Also from the C# specs, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7029, under "10.8.1 Field-like events" it says "When compiling a field-like event, the compiler automatically creates storage to hold the delegate,"
specs also says:
Thus, an instance event declaration of the form:
class X
{
public event D Ev;
}
could be compiled to something equivalent to:
class X
{
private D __Ev; // field to hold the delegate
public event D Ev {
add {
lock(this) { __Ev = __Ev + value; }
}
remove {
lock(this) { __Ev = __Ev - value; }
}
}
}
If you do something like the code below, the compiler compiles it successfully:
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
public event EventHandler ss;
Program()
{
if (null != ss)
{
ss(this, EventArgs.Empty) ;
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
new Program();
}
}
}
And if you add accessors to ss above, it will NOT compile:
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
public event EventHandler ss
{
add { }
remove { }
}
Program()
{
if (null != ss)
{
ss(this, EventArgs.Empty) ;
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
new Program();
}
}
}
There are two kinds of events demonstrated here
Field-like events => we can invoke
events with accessors => we cannot invoke (cannot find this in specs why, maybe I missed it)(and was only testing this on Visual Studio 2005, and the specs was the latest, I guess)

How to raise custom event from a Static Class

I have a static class that I would like to raise an event as part of a try catch block within a static method of that class.
For example in this method I would like to raise a custom event in the catch.
public static void saveMyMessage(String message)
{
try
{
//Do Database stuff
}
catch (Exception e)
{
//Raise custom event here
}
}
Thank you.

Important: be very careful about subscribing to a static event from instances. Static-to-static is fine, but a subscription from a static event to an instance handler is a great (read: very dangerous) way to keep that instance alive forever. GC will see the link, and will not collect the instance unless you unsubscribe (or use something like a WeakReference).
The pattern for creating static events is the same as instance events, just with static:
public static event EventHandler SomeEvent;
To make life easier (re null checking), a useful trick here is to add a trivial handler:
public static event EventHandler SomeEvent = delegate {};
Then you can simply invoke it without the null-check:
SomeEvent(null, EventArgs.Empty);
Note that because delegate instances are immutable, and de-referencing is thread-safe, there is never a race condition here, and no need to lock... who-ever is subscribed when we de-reference gets invoked.
(adjust for your own event-args etc).
This trick applies equally to instance events.

Your event would also need to be static:
public class ErrorEventArgs : EventArgs
{
private Exception error;
private string message;
public ErrorEventArgs(Exception ex, string msg)
{
error = ex;
message = msg;
}
public Exception Error
{
get { return error; }
}
public string Message
{
get { return message; }
}
}
public static class Service
{
public static EventHandler<ErrorEventArgs> OnError;
public static void SaveMyMessage(String message)
{
EventHandler<ErrorEventArgs> errorEvent = OnError;
if (errorEvent != null)
{
errorEvent(null, new ErrorEventArgs(null, message));
}
}
}
And Usage:
public class Test
{
public void OnError(object sender, ErrorEventArgs args)
{
Console.WriteLine(args.Message);
}
}
Test t = new Test();
Service.OnError += t.OnError;
Service.SaveMyMessage("Test message");

Several folks have offered up code examples, just don't fire an event using code such as:
if(null != ExampleEvent)
{
ExampleEvent(/* put parameters here, for events: sender, eventArgs */);
}
as this contains a race condition between when you check the event for null and when you actually fire the event. Instead use a simple variation:
MyEvent exampleEventCopy = ExampleEvent;
if(null != exampleEventCopy)
{
exampleEventCopy(/* put parameters here, for events: sender, eventArgs */);
}
This will copy any event subscribers into the exampleEventCopy, which you can then use as a local-only version of the public event without having to worry about any race conditions (Essentially, it is possible that another thread could pre-empt you right after you have checked the public event for null and proceed to remove all subscribers from the event, causing the subsequent firing of the event to throw an exception, by using a local-only copy, you avoid the possibility of another thread removing subscribers, since there is no way they could access the local variable).

Note: VS2008, C#
Just declare an event as you normally would within the static class, but be sure to mark the event as static:
public static event EventHandler Work;
Then just subscribe to it as you normally would.

Just to add "Delegates are immutable" So, as shown in the example above the following line obtains a copy of the delegate.
EventHandler<ErrorEventArgs> errorEvent = OnError;

The way I did this is the following:
1- define a delegate (this will enable you to have customized arguments):
public delegate void CustomeEventHandler(string str);
2- define an event based on the previously defined delegate:
public static event CustomeEventHandler ReadLine;
3- create an event handler:
static void OnLineRead(string currentLine)
{
if (ReadLine != null)
ReadLine(currentLine);
}
4- raise your event using the event handler (just call it wherever you want the event to be raised).