ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Diagnostics.Contracts

Assembly:

System.Diagnostics.Contracts.dll

Enables the factoring of legacy if-then-throw code into separate methods for reuse, and provides full control over thrown exceptions and arguments.

public ref class ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute sealed : Attribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple=false)]
[System.Diagnostics.Conditional("CONTRACTS_FULL")]
public sealed class ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute : Attribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple=false)>]
[<System.Diagnostics.Conditional("CONTRACTS_FULL")>]
type ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute = class
    inherit Attribute

Public NotInheritable Class ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute
Inherits Attribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute ConditionalAttribute

Remarks

If your code uses explicit if-then-throw code to validate parameters, you may be employing helper methods that perform checks and throw particular exceptions on failure, as shown in the following example.

using System;

static class ValidationHelper
{
   public static void NotNull(object argument, string parameterName)
   {
      if (argument == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(parameterName,
                                                            "The parameter cannot be null.");
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public void Execute(string value)
   {
      ValidationHelper.NotNull(value, "value");

      // Body of method goes here.
   }
}

Class ValidationHelper 
   Public Shared Sub NotNull(argument As Object, parameterName As String) 
      If argument Is Nothing Then 
         Throw New ArgumentNullException(parameterName, 
                                         "The parameter cannot be null.")
      End If
   End Sub
End Class

Module Example
   Public Sub Execute(value As String)
      ValidationHelper.NotNull(value, "value")
      
      ' Body of method goes here.
   End Sub
End Module

In this example, Execute has an elective precondition specifying that the parameter value should not be null. To enable the contract tools to recognize that the call to ValidationHelper.NotNull represents a contract, you can mark the called method with the ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute attribute. The Contract.EndContractBlock method call should be used to enable the tools to extract the proper specifications for document generation and static checking, as follows.

using System;
using System.Diagnostics.Contracts;

static class ValidationHelper
{
   [ContractArgumentValidator]
   public static void NotNull(object argument, string parameterName)
   {
      if (argument == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(parameterName,
                                                            "The parameter cannot be null.");
      Contract.EndContractBlock();
   }
}

Imports System.Diagnostics.Contracts

Class ValidationHelper 
   <ContractArgumentValidator> 
   Public Shared Sub NotNull(argument As Object, parameterName As String) 
      If argument Is Nothing Then 
         Throw New ArgumentNullException(parameterName, 
                                         "The parameter cannot be null.")
         Contract.EndContractBlock()
      End If
   End Sub
End Class

In addition to if-then-throw statements, the contract section of contract validator methods may contain calls to other contract validator methods. However, no other contracts (such as Contract.Requires, or Contract.Ensures) are allowed. Code that follows the Contract.EndContractBlock call is ignored by all contract tools.

The following example shows a range argument validator written in terms of an existing NotNull validator method.

using System;
using System.Diagnostics.Contracts;

static class ValidationHelper
{
   [ContractArgumentValidator]
   public static void NotNull(object argument, string parameterName)
   {
      if (argument == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(parameterName,
                                                            "The parameter cannot be null.");
      Contract.EndContractBlock();
   }

   [ContractArgumentValidator]
   public static void InRange(object[] array, int index, string arrayName, string indexName)
   {
      NotNull(array, arrayName);

      if (index < 0)
         throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(indexName,
                                               "The index cannot be negative.");
      if (index >= array.Length)
         throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(indexName,
                                               "The index is outside the bounds of the array.");
      Contract.EndContractBlock();
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public void Execute(object[] data, int position)
   {
      ValidationHelper.InRange(data, position, "data", "position");

      // Body of method goes here.
   }
}

Imports System.Diagnostics.Contracts

Class ValidationHelper 
   <ContractArgumentValidator> 
   Public Shared Sub NotNull(argument As Object, parameterName As String) 
      If argument Is Nothing Then 
         Throw New ArgumentNullException(parameterName, 
                                         "The parameter cannot be null.")
         Contract.EndContractBlock()
      End If
   End Sub

   <ContractArgumentValidator>
   Public Shared Sub InRange(array() As Object, index As Integer, 
                             arrayName As String, indexName As String)
      NotNull(array, arrayName)
      
      If index < 0 Then 
         Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException(indexName, 
                                               "The index cannot be negative.")
      End If                                         
      If index >= array.Length Then 
         Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException(indexName, 
                                               "The index is outside the bounds of the array.")
      End If                                                                                              
      Contract.EndContractBlock()
   End Sub
End Class

Module Example
   Public Sub Execute(data() As Object, position As Integer)
      ValidationHelper.InRange(data, position, "data", "position")
      
      ' Body of method goes here.
   End Sub
End Module

From a specification point of view, the Execute method has the following three contracts:

Contract.Requires<ArgumentNullException>(data != null);  
Contract.Requires<ArgumentOutOfRangeException>(position >= 0);  
Contract.Requires<ArgumentOutOfRangeException>(position < data.Length);  

In standard methods, calls to contract validator methods can be freely mixed with other contracts such as Contract.Ensures or Contract.Requires.

Constructors

ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute()

Initializes a new instance of the ContractArgumentValidatorAttribute class.

Properties

TypeId

When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute)

Methods

Equals(Object)	Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetHashCode()	Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()	When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute)
Match(Object)	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)