Exception.Source Property

Definition

Gets or sets the name of the application or the object that causes the error.

C#
public virtual string Source { get; set; }
C#
public virtual string? Source { get; set; }

Property Value

The name of the application or the object that causes the error.

Implements

Exceptions

The object must be a runtime System.Reflection object.

Examples

The following example throws an Exception that sets the Source property in its constructor and then catches the exception and displays Source.

C#
// Example for the Exception.HelpLink, Exception.Source,
// Exception.StackTrace, and Exception.TargetSite properties.
using System;

namespace NDP_UE_CS
{
    // Derive an exception; the constructor sets the HelpLink and
    // Source properties.
    class LogTableOverflowException : Exception
    {
        const string overflowMessage = "The log table has overflowed.";

        public LogTableOverflowException(
            string auxMessage, Exception inner ) :
                base( String.Format( "{0} - {1}",
                    overflowMessage, auxMessage ), inner )
        {
            this.HelpLink = "https://learn.microsoft.com";
            this.Source = "Exception_Class_Samples";
        }
    }

    class LogTable
    {
        public LogTable( int numElements )
        {
            logArea = new string[ numElements ];
            elemInUse = 0;
        }

        protected string[ ] logArea;
        protected int       elemInUse;

        // The AddRecord method throws a derived exception if
        // the array bounds exception is caught.
        public    int       AddRecord( string newRecord )
        {
            try
            {
                logArea[ elemInUse ] = newRecord;
                return elemInUse++;
            }
            catch( Exception e )
            {
                throw new LogTableOverflowException(
                    String.Format( "Record \"{0}\" was not logged.",
                        newRecord ), e );
            }
        }
    }

    class OverflowDemo
    {
        // Create a log table and force an overflow.
        public static void Main()
        {
            LogTable log = new LogTable( 4 );

            Console.WriteLine(
                "This example of \n   Exception.Message, \n" +
                "   Exception.HelpLink, \n   Exception.Source, \n" +
                "   Exception.StackTrace, and \n   Exception." +
                "TargetSite \ngenerates the following output." );

            try
            {
                for( int count = 1; ; count++ )
                {
                    log.AddRecord(
                        String.Format(
                            "Log record number {0}", count ) );
                }
            }
            catch( Exception ex )
            {
                Console.WriteLine( "\nMessage ---\n{0}", ex.Message );
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "\nHelpLink ---\n{0}", ex.HelpLink );
                Console.WriteLine( "\nSource ---\n{0}", ex.Source );
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "\nStackTrace ---\n{0}", ex.StackTrace );
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "\nTargetSite ---\n{0}", ex.TargetSite );
            }
        }
    }
}

/*
This example of
   Exception.Message,
   Exception.HelpLink,
   Exception.Source,
   Exception.StackTrace, and
   Exception.TargetSite
generates the following output.

Message ---
The log table has overflowed. - Record "Log record number 5" was not logged.

HelpLink ---
https://learn.microsoft.com

Source ---
Exception_Class_Samples

StackTrace ---
   at NDP_UE_CS.LogTable.AddRecord(String newRecord)
   at NDP_UE_CS.OverflowDemo.Main()

TargetSite ---
Int32 AddRecord(System.String)
*/

Remarks

If the Source property is not set explicitly, the runtime automatically sets it to the name of the assembly in which the exception originated.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0