Unable to cast object of type <xxx> to type <xxx>

Question

User-700129015 posted

I'm working on an application that uses a custom configuration file and reads the contents into a public shared readonly variable named "settings":

Public   NotInheritable Class Globals

Public Shared ReadOnly Settings As TheBMTStoreSection = _

CType(WebConfigurationManager.GetSection("TheBMTStore"), TheBMTStoreSection)Public Shared ThemesSelectorID As String = ""

 End

Class

 This part seems to work just fine.  The problem I can't seem to solve is when I try to access the "Settings" from a class that provides connection info.  Here is the code that creates an instance of the "Settings" to get at the "ProviderType":

 

Private Shared _instance As StoreProvider

Public Shared ReadOnly Property Instance() As StoreProviderGet

 If IsNothing(_instance) Then

 _instance = CType(Activator.CreateInstance( _

Type.GetType(BMTStore.Globals.Settings.Store.ProviderType)), StoreProvider)

End If

Return  _instance

End Get

End Property

The application throws an "unable to cast object of type 'TheBMTStoreSection' to type 'BMTStore.TheBMTStoreSection'.

The web.config contains the following section name and section:

<section name="TheBMTStore" type="TheBMTStoreSection"/>

<TheBMTStore defaultConnectionStringName="connBMT" defaultCacheDuration="600" >

<contactForm mailTo="[e-mail]"/>

<store businessEmail="[e-mail]"/>

</TheBMTStore>

Any help  would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

User-1528148979 posted

Did you try ?

    Public Shared ReadOnly Settings As BMTStore.TheBMTStoreSection = DirectCast(WebConfigurationManager.GetSection("TheBMTStore"), BMTStore.TheBMTStoreSection)
    Public Shared ThemesSelectorID As String = ""

Answer 2

User-700129015 posted

 I tried the above and received the same error message.  Here is the stack trace from the error:

[InvalidCastException: Unable to cast object of type 'TheBMTStoreSection' to type 'BMTStore.TheBMTStoreSection'.]
   BMTStore.Globals..cctor() in C:\Visual Studio 2008\WebSites\BMTStore\BMTStore\App_Code\Globals.vb:5

[TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'BMTStore.Globals' threw an exception.]
   BMTStore.StoreProvider.get_Instance() in C:\Visual Studio 2008\WebSites\BMTStore\BMTStore\Classes\StoreProvider.vb:13
   BMTStore.SiteProvider.get_Store() in C:\Visual Studio 2008\WebSites\BMTStore\BMTStore\Classes\SiteProvider.vb:8
   BMTStore.Department.GetDepartments() in C:\Visual Studio 2008\WebSites\BMTStore\BMTStore\Classes\Department.vb:102

[TargetInvocationException: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation.]
   System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) +0
   System.RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, Signature sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner) +71
   System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks) +350
   System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture) +29
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.ObjectDataSourceView.InvokeMethod(ObjectDataSourceMethod method, Boolean disposeInstance, Object& instance) +488
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.ObjectDataSourceView.ExecuteSelect(DataSourceSelectArguments arguments) +1247
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListControl.OnDataBinding(EventArgs e) +95
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListControl.PerformSelect() +34
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.BaseDataBoundControl.DataBind() +73
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.BaseDataBoundControl.EnsureDataBound() +82
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.BaseDataBoundControl.OnPreRender(EventArgs e) +22
   System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListControl.OnPreRender(EventArgs e) +18
   System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() +80
   System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() +171
   System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() +171
   System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() +171
   System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() +171
   System.Web.UI.Control.PreRenderRecursiveInternal() +171
   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +842