Question Storing class reference

Is it possible to store class references, either via null-coalescing operators such as

Code (CSharp):

1. object moverObject = FindObjectOfType<DebugController>() == null ? FindObjectOfType<MovementController>() : FindObjectOfType<DebugController>()

and use it runtime to determine which CLASS to use? I haven't had any luck so far.

A little bit more info:
Both classes (DebugController and MovementController) contains a method I wanna retrieve, lets call it, ResetPosition(). However, if I store the classes in a gameobject, and write something like:

Code (CSharp):

1. moverObject.ResetPosition();

It obviously fails me since I am accessing the gameobject first.

My primary goal is to use the correct movement class for when I am debugging and for when released (it's an AR game), and I don't wanna use conditional compilation statements since I would have to write that many times or encapsule my entire code in two conditional compilation statement.

Any idea how I would go about this?

 

Ouch, hurts when you put it like that

I am not new to C#, I am just not very smart.

Okay, I think where you are getting at and I think it is a good idea. I kinda already implemented a MVC-ish structure with IoC and DI in mind. Guess I got lost the basics. Thanks for the help and advice!

 

Me neither, but I try not to let it slow me down!

I see your enthusiasm however and I want to suggest another strategy for you before you tuck too deeply into C# / Unity.

Unity is another world of C# programming. Yeah, it's C#, but you gotta think of it differently, so you have to focus both on the language AND on the Unity "context" you're working in. There's really no way around it. As a rule of thumb, you will almost NEVER use the C# base type

object

I suggest you try lots of random little small things from short recent Youtube tutorials. This will:

a) build up your knowledge
b) build up your confidence
c) potentially amuse you with each of the little accomplishments when you play with them

Check this guy's approach out:

Imphenzia: How Did I Learn To Make Games:

And finally, just to give you tutorial guidance:

Tutorials and example code are great, but keep this in mind to maximize your success and minimize your frustration:

How to do tutorials properly, two (2) simple steps to success:

Step 1. Follow the tutorial and do every single step of the tutorial 100% precisely the way it is shown. Even the slightest deviation (even a single character!) generally ends in disaster. That's how software engineering works. Every step must be taken, every single letter must be spelled, capitalized, punctuated and spaced (or not spaced) properly, literally NOTHING can be omitted or skipped.

Fortunately this is the easiest part to get right: Be a robot. Don't make any mistakes.
BE PERFECT IN EVERYTHING YOU DO HERE!!

If you get any errors, learn how to read the error code and fix your error. Google is your friend here. Do NOT continue until you fix your error. Your error will probably be somewhere near the parenthesis numbers (line and character position) in the file. It is almost CERTAINLY your typo causing the error, so look again and fix it.

Step 2. Go back and work through every part of the tutorial again, and this time explain it to your doggie. See how I am doing that in my avatar picture? If you have no dog, explain it to your house plant. If you are unable to explain any part of it, STOP. DO NOT PROCEED. Now go learn how that part works. Read the documentation on the functions involved. Go back to the tutorial and try to figure out WHY they did that. This is the part that takes a LOT of time when you are new. It might take days or weeks to work through a single 5-minute tutorial. Stick with it. You will learn.

Step 2 is the part everybody seems to miss. Without Step 2 you are simply a code-typing monkey and outside of the specific tutorial you did, you will be completely lost. If you want to learn, you MUST do Step 2.

Of course, all this presupposes no errors in the tutorial. For certain tutorial makers (like Unity, Brackeys, Imphenzia, Sebastian Lague) this is usually the case. For some other less-well-known content creators, this is less true. Read the comments on the video: did anyone have issues like you did? If there's an error, you will NEVER be the first guy to find it.

Beyond that, Step 3, 4, 5 and 6 become easy because you already understand!

Finally, when you have errors, don't post here... just go fix your errors! Here's how:

Remember: NOBODY here memorizes error codes. That's not a thing. The error code is absolutely the least useful part of the error. It serves no purpose at all. Forget the error code. Put it out of your mind.

The complete error message contains everything you need to know to fix the error yourself.

The important parts of the error message are:

- the description of the error itself (google this; you are NEVER the first one!)
- the file it occurred in (critical!)
- the line number and character position (the two numbers in parentheses)
- also possibly useful is the stack trace (all the lines of text in the lower console window)

Always start with the FIRST error in the console window, as sometimes that error causes or compounds some or all of the subsequent errors. Often the error will be immediately prior to the indicated line, so make sure to check there as well.

Look in the documentation. Every API you attempt to use is probably documented somewhere. Are you using it correctly? Are you spelling it correctly?

All of that information is in the actual error message and you must pay attention to it. Learn how to identify it instantly so you don't have to stop your progress and fiddle around with the forum.

 

I actually read through the whole thing. It makes sense, and I guess obvious, but I think the point of what you wrote is that I should be thorough in understanding C# and C# in Unity. I appreciate the time you spent on writing that message.

 

Two more points:

1. it won't happen in a day or a week or a month or a year. It's a process, not a journey to a destination.

2. have fun! enjoy the journey! expand your comfort zone regularly, don't be afraid to try stuff, but definitely build upon the shoulders of the many giants who have gone before us.