Private Constructors (C# Programming Guide)
A private constructor is a special instance constructor. It is generally used in classes that contain static members only. If a class has one or more private constructors and no public constructors, other classes (except nested classes) cannot create instances of this class. For example:
class NLog
{
// Private Constructor:
private NLog() { }
public static double e = Math.E; //2.71828...
}
The declaration of the empty constructor prevents the automatic generation of a default constructor. Note that if you do not use an access modifier with the constructor it will still be private by default. However, the private modifier is usually used explicitly to make it clear that the class cannot be instantiated.
Private constructors are used to prevent creating instances of a class when there are no instance fields or methods, such as the Math class, or when a method is called to obtain an instance of a class. If all the methods in the class are static, consider making the complete class static. For more information see Static Classes and Static Class Members (C# Programming Guide).
Example
The following is an example of a class using a private constructor.
public class Counter
{
private Counter() { }
public static int currentCount;
public static int IncrementCount()
{
return ++currentCount;
}
}
class TestCounter
{
static void Main()
{
// If you uncomment the following statement, it will generate
// an error because the constructor is inaccessible:
// Counter aCounter = new Counter(); // Error
Counter.currentCount = 100;
Counter.IncrementCount();
Console.WriteLine("New count: {0}", Counter.currentCount);
// Keep the console window open in debug mode.
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit.");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
// Output: New count: 101
Notice that if you uncomment the following statement from the example, it will generate an error because the constructor is inaccessible because of its protection level:
// Counter aCounter = new Counter(); // Error
C# Language Specification
For more information, see the C# Language Specification. The language specification is the definitive source for C# syntax and usage.
See Also
Reference
Classes and Structs (C# Programming Guide)
Constructors (C# Programming Guide)
Destructors (C# Programming Guide)