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Extended nameof scope

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Note

This article is a feature specification. The specification serves as the design document for the feature. It includes proposed specification changes, along with information needed during the design and development of the feature. These articles are published until the proposed spec changes are finalized and incorporated in the current ECMA specification.

There may be some discrepancies between the feature specification and the completed implementation. Those differences are captured in the pertinent language design meeting (LDM) notes.

You can learn more about the process for adopting feature speclets into the C# language standard in the article on the specifications.

Summary

Allow nameof(parameter) inside an attribute on a method or parameter. For example:

  • [MyAttribute(nameof(parameter))] void M(int parameter) { }
  • [MyAttribute(nameof(TParameter))] void M<TParameter>() { }
  • void M(int parameter, [MyAttribute(nameof(parameter))] int other) { }

Motivation

Attributes like NotNullWhen or CallerExpression need to refer to parameters, but those parameters are currently not in scope.

Detailed design

Methods

The method's type_parameters are in scope throughout the method_declaration, and can be used to form types throughout that scope in return_type, method_body, and type_parameter_constraints_clauses but not in attributes, except within a nameof expression in attributes.

Method parameters

A method declaration creates a separate declaration space for parameters, type parameters and local variables. Names are introduced into this declaration space by the type parameter list and the formal parameter list of the method and by local variable declarations in the block of the method. Names are introduced into this declaration space by the type parameter list and the formal parameter list of the method in nameof expressions in attributes placed on the method or its parameters.

[...]
Within the block of a method, formal parameters can be referenced by their identifiers in simple_name expressions (Simple names). Within a nameof expression in attributes placed on the method or its parameters, formal parameters can be referenced by their identifiers in simple_name expressions.

Anonymous function signatures

The scope of the parameters of the anonymous function is the anonymous_function_body (ยง7.7) and nameof expressions in attributes placed on the anonymous function or its parameters.

Delegate declarations

The scope of the parameters of the delegate is nameof expressions in attributes placed on the declaration, its type parameters or its parameters.

Simple names

A simple_name is either of the form I or of the form I<A1,...,Ak>, where I is a single identifier and <A1,...,Ak> is an optional type_argument_list. When no type_argument_list is specified, consider K to be zero. The simple_name is evaluated and classified as follows:

  • If K is zero and the simple_name appears within a block and if the block's (or an enclosing block's) local variable declaration space (Declarations) contains a local variable, parameter or constant with name I, then the simple_name refers to that local variable, parameter or constant and is classified as a variable or value.
  • If K is zero and the simple_name appears within the body of a generic method declaration and if that declaration includes a type parameter with name I, then the simple_name refers to that type parameter.
  • If K is zero and the simple_name appears within a nameof expression in an attribute on the method declaration or its parameters and if that declaration includes a parameter or type parameter with name I, then the simple_name refers to that parameter or type parameter.
  • Otherwise, for each instance type T (The instance type), starting with the instance type of the immediately enclosing type declaration and continuing with the instance type of each enclosing class or struct declaration (if any):
    [...]
  • Otherwise, for each namespace N, starting with the namespace in which the simple_name occurs, continuing with each enclosing namespace (if any), and ending with the global namespace, the following steps are evaluated until an entity is located:
    [...]
  • Otherwise, the simple_name is undefined and a compile-time error occurs.

Scopes

  • The scope of a type parameter declared by a type_parameter_list on a method_declaration is [...] and nameof expressions in an attribute on the method declaration or its parameters.
  • The scope of a parameter declared in a method_declaration (Methods) is the method_body of that method_declaration and nameof expressions in an attribute on the method declaration or its parameters.