CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#asp.net
Trey Copeland
Trey Copeland

Reputation: 3527

Method must have return type

I keep getting this error when I try to build my solution. I've tried public string and just public but can't get it to work. Any ideas? Thanks!

[WebMethod]
public static LoadCitiesByState(string state)
{
        DataTable dt = SharedDataAccess.GetCities(state);
        List<string> cities = new List<string>();

        foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
        {
            cities.Add(row[0].ToString());
        }
        return cities;

   }

EDIT

Now I get the error: "Not all code paths return a value"

EDIT II

Sorry forgot to paste the try & catch I had in there. I removed them and it worked. If anyone wants to show how to get it to work with a try & catch, feel free though.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 3917

Answers (4)

tzaman
tzaman

Reputation: 47770

You need to specify the type of the variable you're returning:

public static List<string> LoadCitiesByState(string state)

edit for try/catch:

You need to make sure that something gets returned regardless of whether there is an exception thrown or not. So declare the return variable beforehand, and return it after the try/catch block:

public static List<string> LoadCitiesByState(string state)
{
    List<string> cities = new List<string>();
    try {
        DataTable dt = SharedDataAccess.GetCities(state);
    } catch // specify exceptions here
    {
        //exception handling
    }
    foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
    {
        cities.Add(row[0].ToString());
    }
    return cities;
}

In general it's always a good idea to minimize the number of lines you have inside the try block.

Upvotes: 13

Jorge
Jorge

Reputation: 18237

the problem with your method it's that you need to define which type of data are you going to return 

[WebMethod]
public static List<string> LoadCitiesByState(string state)
{
    DataTable dt = SharedDataAccess.GetCities(state);
    List<string> cities = new List<string>();

    foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
    {
        cities.Add(row[0].ToString());
    }
    return cities;

}

And that's all

UPDATE

If you want to add the try and catch you could do it like this

[WebMethod]
public static List<string> LoadCitiesByState(string state)
{

    List<string> cities = new List<string>();
    try
    {
        DataTable dt = SharedDataAccess.GetCities(state);
        foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
        {
            cities.Add(row[0].ToString());
        }
     }
     catch(Exception e)
     {
          //logs your exception 
     }

    return cities;

}

Upvotes: 4

Igor
Igor

Reputation: 129

You need to specify return type, try this

[WebMethod]
public static List<string> LoadCitiesByState(string state)
{
        DataTable dt = SharedDataAccess.GetCities(state);
        List<string> cities = new List<string>();

        foreach (DataRow row in dt.Rows)
        {
            cities.Add(row[0].ToString());
        }
        return cities;

}

Upvotes: 1

shf301
shf301

Reputation: 31394

You are returning cities with is a List<string> so that should be your return type.

public static List<string> LoadCitiesByState(string state)

Upvotes: 6

Related Questions