System.NotSupportedException class

Article
01/04/2024

This article provides supplementary remarks to the reference documentation for this API.

NotSupportedException indicates that no implementation exists for an invoked method or property.

NotSupportedException uses the HRESULT COR_E_NOTSUPPORTED, which has the value 0x80131515.

For a list of initial property values for an instance of NotSupportedException, see the NotSupportedException constructors.

Throw a NotSupportedException exception

You might consider throwing a NotSupportedException exception in the following cases:

You're implementing a general-purpose interface, and number of the methods have no meaningful implementation. For example, if you are creating a date and time type that implements the IConvertible interface, you would throw a NotSupportedException exception for most of the conversions.
You've inherited from an abstract class that requires that you override a number of methods. However, you're only prepared to provide an implementation for a subset of these. For the methods that you decide not to implement, you can choose to throw a NotSupportedException.
You're defining a general-purpose type with a state that enables operations conditionally. For example, your type can be either read-only or read-write. In that case:
- If the object is read-only, attempting to assign values to the properties of an instance or call methods that modify instance state should throw a NotSupportedException exception.
- You should implement a property that returns a Boolean value that indicates whether particular functionality is available. For example, for a type that can be either read-only or read-write, you could implement a IsReadOnly property that indicates whether the set of read-write methods are available or unavailable.

Handle a NotSupportedException exception

The NotSupportedException exception indicates that a method has no implementation and that you should not call it. You should not handle the exception. Instead, what you should do depends on the cause of the exception: whether an implementation is completely absent, or the member invocation is inconsistent with the purpose of an object (such as a call to the FileStream.Write method on a read-only FileStream object).

An implementation has not been provided because the operation cannot be performed in a meaningful way. This is a common exception when you are calling methods on an object that provides implementations for the methods of an abstract base class, or that implements a general-purpose interface, and the method has no meaningful implementation.

For example, the Convert class implements the IConvertible interface, which means that it must include a method to convert every primitive type to every other primitive type. Many of those conversions, however, are not possible. As a result, a call to the Convert.ToBoolean(DateTime) method, for instance, throws a NotSupportedException exception because there is no possible conversion between a DateTime and a Boolean value

To eliminate the exception, you should eliminate the method call.

The method call is not supported given the state of the object. You're attempting to invoke a member whose functionality is unavailable because of the object's state. You can eliminate the exception in one of three ways:

You know the state of the object in advance, but you've invoked an unsupported method or property. In this case, the member invocation is an error, and you can eliminate it.

You know the state of the object in advance (usually because your code has instantiated it), but the object is mis-configured. The following example illustrates this issue. It creates a read-only FileStream object and then attempts to write to it.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class Example
{
    public static async Task Main()
    {
        Encoding enc = Encoding.Unicode;
        String value = "This is a string to persist.";
        Byte[] bytes = enc.GetBytes(value);

        FileStream fs = new FileStream(@".\TestFile.dat",
                                       FileMode.Open,
                                       FileAccess.Read);
        Task t = fs.WriteAsync(enc.GetPreamble(), 0, enc.GetPreamble().Length);
        Task t2 = t.ContinueWith((a) => fs.WriteAsync(bytes, 0, bytes.Length));
        await t2;
        fs.Close();
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    Unhandled Exception: System.NotSupportedException: Stream does not support writing.
//       at System.IO.Stream.BeginWriteInternal(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, AsyncCallback callback, Object state
//    , Boolean serializeAsynchronously)
//       at System.IO.FileStream.BeginWrite(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 numBytes, AsyncCallback userCallback, Object sta
//    teObject)
//       at System.IO.Stream.<>c.<BeginEndWriteAsync>b__53_0(Stream stream, ReadWriteParameters args, AsyncCallback callback,
//    Object state)
//       at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncTrim[TInstance,TArgs](TInstance thisRef, TArgs args, Func`5 beginMet
//    hod, Func`3 endMethod)
//       at System.IO.Stream.BeginEndWriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at System.IO.FileStream.WriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
//       at System.IO.Stream.WriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at Example.Main()

open System.IO
open System.Text

let main = task {
    let enc = Encoding.Unicode
    let value = "This is a string to persist."
    let bytes  = enc.GetBytes value

    let fs = new FileStream(@".\TestFile.dat", FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)
    let t = fs.WriteAsync(enc.GetPreamble(), 0, enc.GetPreamble().Length)
    let t2 = t.ContinueWith(fun a -> fs.WriteAsync(bytes, 0, bytes.Length))
    let! _ = t2
    fs.Close()
}
main.Wait()

// The example displays the following output:
//    Unhandled Exception: System.NotSupportedException: Stream does not support writing.
//       at System.IO.Stream.BeginWriteInternal(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, AsyncCallback callback, Object state
//    , Boolean serializeAsynchronously)
//       at System.IO.FileStream.BeginWrite(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 numBytes, AsyncCallback userCallback, Object sta
//    teObject)
//       at System.IO.Stream.<>c.<BeginEndWriteAsync>b__53_0(Stream stream, ReadWriteParameters args, AsyncCallback callback,
//    Object state)
//       at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncTrim[TInstance,TArgs](TInstance thisRef, TArgs args, Func`5 beginMet
//    hod, Func`3 endMethod)
//       at System.IO.Stream.BeginEndWriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at System.IO.FileStream.WriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
//       at System.IO.Stream.WriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at <StartupCode:fs>.main()

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim enc As Encoding = Encoding.Unicode
      Dim value As String = "This is a string to persist."
      Dim bytes() As Byte = enc.GetBytes(value)

      Dim fs As New FileStream(".\TestFile.dat", 
                               FileMode.Open,
                               FileAccess.Read)
      Dim t As Task = fs.WriteAsync(enc.GetPreamble(), 0, enc.GetPreamble().Length)
      Dim t2 As Task = t.ContinueWith(Sub(a) fs.WriteAsync(bytes, 0, bytes.Length)) 
      t2.Wait()
      fs.Close()
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    Unhandled Exception: System.NotSupportedException: Stream does not support writing.
'       at System.IO.Stream.BeginWriteInternal(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, AsyncCallback callback, Object state
'    , Boolean serializeAsynchronously)
'       at System.IO.FileStream.BeginWrite(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 numBytes, AsyncCallback userCallback, Object sta
'    teObject)
'       at System.IO.Stream.<>c.<BeginEndWriteAsync>b__53_0(Stream stream, ReadWriteParameters args, AsyncCallback callback,
'    Object state)
'       at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncTrim[TInstance,TArgs](TInstance thisRef, TArgs args, Func`5 beginMet
'    hod, Func`3 endMethod)
'       at System.IO.Stream.BeginEndWriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
'       at System.IO.FileStream.WriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
'       at System.IO.Stream.WriteAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
'       at Example.Main()

Ycan eliminate the exception by ensuring that the instantiated object supports the functionality you intend. The following example addresses the problem of the read-only FileStream object by providing the correct arguments to the FileStream.FileStream(String, FileMode, FileAccess) constructor.

You don't know the state of the object in advance, and the object doesn't support a particular operation. In most cases, the object should include a property or method that indicates whether it supports a particular set of operations. You can eliminate the exception by checking the value of the object and invoking the member only if appropriate.

The following example defines a DetectEncoding method that throws a NotSupportedException exception when it attempts to read from the beginning of a stream that does not support read access.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class TestPropEx1
{
    public static async Task Main()
    {
        String name = @".\TestFile.dat";
        var fs = new FileStream(name,
                                FileMode.Create,
                                FileAccess.Write);
        Console.WriteLine("Filename: {0}, Encoding: {1}",
                          name, await FileUtilities1.GetEncodingType(fs));
    }
}

public class FileUtilities1
{
    public enum EncodingType
    { None = 0, Unknown = -1, Utf8 = 1, Utf16 = 2, Utf32 = 3 }

    public async static Task<EncodingType> GetEncodingType(FileStream fs)
    {
        Byte[] bytes = new Byte[4];
        int bytesRead = await fs.ReadAsync(bytes, 0, 4);
        if (bytesRead < 2)
            return EncodingType.None;

        if (bytesRead >= 3 & (bytes[0] == 0xEF && bytes[1] == 0xBB && bytes[2] == 0xBF))
            return EncodingType.Utf8;

        if (bytesRead == 4)
        {
            var value = BitConverter.ToUInt32(bytes, 0);
            if (value == 0x0000FEFF | value == 0xFEFF0000)
                return EncodingType.Utf32;
        }

        var value16 = BitConverter.ToUInt16(bytes, 0);
        if (value16 == (ushort)0xFEFF | value16 == (ushort)0xFFFE)
            return EncodingType.Utf16;

        return EncodingType.Unknown;
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    Unhandled Exception: System.NotSupportedException: Stream does not support reading.
//       at System.IO.FileStream.BeginRead(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 numBytes, AsyncCallback callback, Object state)
//       at System.IO.Stream.<>c.<BeginEndReadAsync>b__46_0(Stream stream, ReadWriteParameters args, AsyncCallback callback, Object state)
//       at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncTrim[TInstance, TArgs](TInstance thisRef, TArgs args, Func`5 beginMethod, Func`3 endMethod)
//       at System.IO.Stream.BeginEndReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at System.IO.FileStream.ReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
//       at System.IO.Stream.ReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at FileUtilities.GetEncodingType(FileStream fs) in C:\Work\docs\program.cs:line 26
//       at Example.Main() in C:\Work\docs\program.cs:line 13
//       at Example.<Main>()

open System
open System.IO

module FileUtilities =
    type EncodingType =
        | None = 0
        | Unknown = -1
        | Utf8 = 1
        | Utf16 = 2
        | Utf32 = 3

    let getEncodingType (fs: FileStream) = 
        task {
            let bytes = Array.zeroCreate<byte> 4
            let! bytesRead = fs.ReadAsync(bytes, 0, 4)
            if bytesRead < 2 then
                return EncodingType.None

            elif bytesRead >= 3 && bytes[0] = 0xEFuy && bytes[1] = 0xBBuy && bytes[2] = 0xBFuy then
                return EncodingType.Utf8
            else
                let value = BitConverter.ToUInt32(bytes, 0)
                if bytesRead = 4 && (value = 0x0000FEFFu || value = 0xFEFF0000u) then
                    return EncodingType.Utf32
                else
                    let value16 = BitConverter.ToUInt16(bytes, 0)
                    if value16 = 0xFEFFus || value16 = 0xFFFEus then
                        return EncodingType.Utf16
                    else
                        return EncodingType.Unknown
        }

let main _ = 
    task {
        let name = @".\TestFile.dat"
        let fs = new FileStream(name, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write)
        let! et = FileUtilities.getEncodingType fs
        printfn $"Filename: {name}, Encoding: {et}"
    }

// The example displays the following output:
//    Unhandled Exception: System.NotSupportedException: Stream does not support reading.
//       at System.IO.FileStream.BeginRead(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 numBytes, AsyncCallback callback, Object state)
//       at System.IO.Stream.<>c.<BeginEndReadAsync>b__46_0(Stream stream, ReadWriteParameters args, AsyncCallback callback, Object state)
//       at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncTrim[TInstance, TArgs](TInstance thisRef, TArgs args, Func`5 beginMethod, Func`3 endMethod)
//       at System.IO.Stream.BeginEndReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at System.IO.FileStream.ReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
//       at System.IO.Stream.ReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
//       at FileUtilities.GetEncodingType(FileStream fs)
//       at Example.Main()
//       at Example.<Main>()

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Threading.Tasks

Module Example2
    Public Sub Main()
        Dim name As String = ".\TestFile.dat"
        Dim fs As New FileStream(name,
                               FileMode.Create,
                               FileAccess.Write)
        Console.WriteLine("Filename: {0}, Encoding: {1}",
                        name, FileUtilities2.GetEncodingType(fs))
    End Sub
End Module

Public Class FileUtilities2
    Public Enum EncodingType As Integer
        None = 0
        Unknown = -1
        Utf8 = 1
        Utf16 = 2
        Utf32 = 3
    End Enum

    Public Shared Function GetEncodingType(fs As FileStream) As EncodingType
        Dim bytes(3) As Byte
        Dim t As Task(Of Integer) = fs.ReadAsync(bytes, 0, 4)
        t.Wait()
        Dim bytesRead As Integer = t.Result
        If bytesRead < 2 Then Return EncodingType.None

        If bytesRead >= 3 And (bytes(0) = &HEF AndAlso bytes(1) = &HBB AndAlso bytes(2) = &HBF) Then
            Return EncodingType.Utf8
        End If

        If bytesRead = 4 Then
            Dim value As UInteger = BitConverter.ToUInt32(bytes, 0)
            If value = &HFEFF Or value = &HFEFF0000 Then
                Return EncodingType.Utf32
            End If
        End If

        Dim value16 As UInt16 = BitConverter.ToUInt16(bytes, 0)
        If value16 = &HFEFF Or value16 = &HFFFE Then
            Return EncodingType.Utf16
        End If

        Return EncodingType.Unknown
    End Function
End Class
' The example displays the following output:
'    Unhandled Exception: System.NotSupportedException: Stream does not support reading.
'       at System.IO.Stream.BeginReadInternal(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, AsyncCallback callback, Object state,
'     Boolean serializeAsynchronously)
'       at System.IO.FileStream.BeginRead(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 numBytes, AsyncCallback userCallback, Object stat
'    eObject)
'       at System.IO.Stream.<>c.<BeginEndReadAsync>b__43_0(Stream stream, ReadWriteParameters args, AsyncCallback callback, O
'    bject state)
'       at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskFactory`1.FromAsyncTrim[TInstance,TArgs](TInstance thisRef, TArgs args, Func`5 beginMet
'    hod, Func`3 endMethod)
'       at System.IO.Stream.BeginEndReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
'       at System.IO.FileStream.ReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
'       at System.IO.Stream.ReadAsync(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
'       at FileUtilities2.GetEncodingType(FileStream fs)
'       at Example.Main()

You can eliminate the exception by examining the value of the FileStream.CanRead property and exiting the method if the stream is read-only.

    public static async Task<EncodingType> GetEncodingType(FileStream fs)
    {
        if (!fs.CanRead)
            return EncodingType.Unknown;

        Byte[] bytes = new Byte[4];
        int bytesRead = await fs.ReadAsync(bytes, 0, 4);
        if (bytesRead < 2)
            return EncodingType.None;

        if (bytesRead >= 3 & (bytes[0] == 0xEF && bytes[1] == 0xBB && bytes[2] == 0xBF))
            return EncodingType.Utf8;

        if (bytesRead == 4)
        {
            var value = BitConverter.ToUInt32(bytes, 0);
            if (value == 0x0000FEFF | value == 0xFEFF0000)
                return EncodingType.Utf32;
        }

        var value16 = BitConverter.ToUInt16(bytes, 0);
        if (value16 == (ushort)0xFEFF | value16 == (ushort)0xFFFE)
            return EncodingType.Utf16;

        return EncodingType.Unknown;
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       Filename: .\TestFile.dat, Encoding: Unknown

let getEncodingType (fs: FileStream) = 
    task {
        if not fs.CanRead then
            return EncodingType.Unknown
        else
            let bytes = Array.zeroCreate<byte> 4
            let! bytesRead = fs.ReadAsync(bytes, 0, 4)
            if bytesRead < 2 then
                return EncodingType.None

            elif bytesRead >= 3 && bytes[0] = 0xEFuy && bytes[1] = 0xBBuy && bytes[2] = 0xBFuy then
                return EncodingType.Utf8
            else
                let value = BitConverter.ToUInt32(bytes, 0)
                if bytesRead = 4 && (value = 0x0000FEFFu || value = 0xFEFF0000u) then
                    return EncodingType.Utf32
                else
                    let value16 = BitConverter.ToUInt16(bytes, 0)
                    if value16 = 0xFEFFus || value16 = 0xFFFEus then
                        return EncodingType.Utf16
                    else
                        return EncodingType.Unknown
    }
// The example displays the following output:
//       Filename: .\TestFile.dat, Encoding: Unknown

Public Class FileUtilities3
    Public Enum EncodingType As Integer
        None = 0
        Unknown = -1
        Utf8 = 1
        Utf16 = 2
        Utf32 = 3
    End Enum

    Public Shared Function GetEncodingType(fs As FileStream) As EncodingType
        If Not fs.CanRead Then
            Return EncodingType.Unknown
        End If

        Dim bytes(3) As Byte
        Dim t As Task(Of Integer) = fs.ReadAsync(bytes, 0, 4)
        t.Wait()
        Dim bytesRead As Integer = t.Result
        If bytesRead < 2 Then Return EncodingType.None

        If bytesRead >= 3 And (bytes(0) = &HEF AndAlso bytes(1) = &HBB AndAlso bytes(2) = &HBF) Then
            Return EncodingType.Utf8
        End If

        If bytesRead = 4 Then
            Dim value As UInteger = BitConverter.ToUInt32(bytes, 0)
            If value = &HFEFF Or value = &HFEFF0000 Then
                Return EncodingType.Utf32
            End If
        End If

        Dim value16 As UInt16 = BitConverter.ToUInt16(bytes, 0)
        If value16 = &HFEFF Or value16 = &HFFFE Then
            Return EncodingType.Utf16
        End If

        Return EncodingType.Unknown
    End Function
End Class
' The example displays the following output:
'       Filename: .\TestFile.dat, Encoding: Unknown

The NotSupportedException exception is closely related to two other exception types;

NotImplementedException

This exception is thrown when a method could be implemented but is not, either because the member will be implemented in a later version, the member is not available on a particular platform, or the member belongs to an abstract class and a derived class must provide an implementation.
InvalidOperationException

This exception is thrown in scenarios in which it is generally sometimes possible for the object to perform the requested operation, and the object state determines whether the operation can be performed.

.NET Compact Framework notes

When working with the .NET Compact Framework and using P/Invoke on a native function, this exception may be thrown if:

The declaration in managed code is incorrect.
The .NET Compact Framework does not support what you are trying to do.
The DLL names are mangled on export.

If a NotSupportedException exception is thrown, check:

For any violations of the .NET Compact Framework P/Invoke restrictions.
For any arguments that require pre-allocated memory. If these exist, you should pass a reference to an existing variable.
That the names of the exported functions are correct. This can be verified with DumpBin.exe.
That you are not attempting to pass too many arguments.

System.NotSupportedException class

Throw a NotSupportedException exception

Handle a NotSupportedException exception

.NET Compact Framework notes

Feedback

Additional resources

System.NotSupportedException class

Throw a NotSupportedException exception

Handle a NotSupportedException exception

Related exception types

.NET Compact Framework notes

Feedback

Additional resources