ArgumentException Class

Definition

Namespace:

System

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Source:

ArgumentException.cs

The exception that is thrown when one of the arguments provided to a method is not valid.

public ref class ArgumentException : SystemException

public class ArgumentException : SystemException

type ArgumentException = class
    inherit SystemException

Public Class ArgumentException
Inherits SystemException

Inheritance

Object

Exception

SystemException

ArgumentException

Derived

System.ArgumentNullException

System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException

System.ComponentModel.InvalidAsynchronousStateException

System.ComponentModel.InvalidEnumArgumentException

System.DuplicateWaitObjectException

System.Globalization.CultureNotFoundException

System.IO.Log.ReservationNotFoundException

System.Text.DecoderFallbackException

System.Text.EncoderFallbackException

System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexParseException

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to throw and catch an ArgumentException. It uses the ArgumentException.GetType().Name property to display the name of the exception object, and also uses the Message property to display the text of the exception message.

using namespace System;

static int DivideByTwo(int num) 
{
    // If num is an odd number, throw an ArgumentException.
    if ((num & 1) == 1)
        throw gcnew ArgumentException(String::Format("{0} is not an even number", num), 
                                      "num");

    // num is even, return half of its value.
    return num / 2;
}

void main() 
{
    // Define some integers for a division operation.
    array<int>^ values = { 10, 7 };
    for each (int value in values) {
        try {
           Console::WriteLine("{0} divided by 2 is {1}", value, DivideByTwo(value));
        }
        catch (ArgumentException^ e) {
           Console::WriteLine("{0}: {1}", e->GetType()->Name, e->Message);
        }
        Console::WriteLine();
    }
}
// This example displays the following output:
//     10 divided by 2 is 5
//     
//     ArgumentException: 7 is not an even number
//     Parameter name: num

using System;

public class Example
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Define some integers for a division operation.
        int[] values = { 10, 7 };
        foreach (var value in values) {
            try {
               Console.WriteLine("{0} divided by 2 is {1}", value, DivideByTwo(value));
            }
            catch (ArgumentException e) {
               Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", e.GetType().Name, e.Message);
            }
            Console.WriteLine();
        }
    }

    static int DivideByTwo(int num)
    {
        // If num is an odd number, throw an ArgumentException.
        if ((num & 1) == 1)
            throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("{0} is not an even number", num),
                                      "num");

        // num is even, return half of its value.
        return num / 2;
    }
}
// This example displays the following output:
//     10 divided by 2 is 5
//
//     ArgumentException: 7 is not an even number
//     Parameter name: num

open System

let divideByTwo num =
    // If num is an odd number, throw an ArgumentException.
    if num % 2 = 1 then
        invalidArg "num" $"{num} is not an even number"

    // num is even, return half of its value.
    num / 2;

// Define some integers for a division operation.
let values = [ 10; 7 ]
for value in values do
    try 
        printfn $"{value} divided by 2 is {divideByTwo value}"
    with
    | :? ArgumentException as e ->
        printfn $"{e.GetType().Name}: {e.Message}"
    
    printfn ""

// This example displays the following output:
//     10 divided by 2 is 5
//
//     ArgumentException: 7 is not an even number (Parameter 'num')

Public Class Example
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Define some integers for a division operation.
        Dim values() As Integer = { 10, 7 }

        For Each value In values
            Try 
               Console.WriteLine("{0} divided by 2 is {1}", value, DivideByTwo(value))
            Catch e As ArgumentException
               Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", e.GetType().Name, e.Message)
            End Try
            Console.WriteLine()
        Next
    End Sub
    
    Private Shared Function DivideByTwo(ByVal num As Integer) As Integer
        ' If num is an odd number, throw an ArgumentException.
        If (num And 1) = 1 Then
            Throw New ArgumentException(String.Format("{0} is not an even number", num), 
                                      "num")
        End If
        Return num \ 2
    End Function
End Class
' The example displays the following output:
'     10 divided by 2 is 5
'     
'     ArgumentException: 7 is not an even number
'     Parameter name: num

Remarks

ArgumentException is thrown when a method is invoked and at least one of the passed arguments does not meet the parameter specification of the called method. The ParamName property identifies the invalid argument.

Most commonly, an ArgumentException is thrown by the common language runtime or another class library and indicates developer error. If you throw an ArgumentException from your code, you should ensure that the exception's Message property includes a meaningful error message that describes the invalid argument and the expected range of values for the argument.

The primary derived classes of ArgumentException are ArgumentNullException and ArgumentOutOfRangeException. These derived classes should be used instead of ArgumentException, except in situations where neither of the derived classes is acceptable. For example, exceptions should be thrown by:

• ArgumentNullException whenever null is passed to a method that does not accept it as a valid argument.

• ArgumentOutOfRangeException when the value of an argument is outside the range of acceptable values; for example, when the value "46" is passed as the month argument during the creation of a DateTime.

If the method call does not have any argument or if the failure does not involve the arguments themselves, then InvalidOperationException should be used.

ArgumentException uses the HRESULT COR_E_ARGUMENT, which has the value 0x80070057.

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

In F#, you can use the invalidArg function to generate and raise an ArgumentException.

Constructors

ArgumentException()	Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class.
ArgumentException(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)	Obsolete. Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class with serialized data.
ArgumentException(String)	Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class with a specified error message.
ArgumentException(String, Exception)	Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class with a specified error message and a reference to the inner exception that is the cause of this exception.
ArgumentException(String, String)	Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class with a specified error message and the name of the parameter that causes this exception.
ArgumentException(String, String, Exception)	Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class with a specified error message, the parameter name, and a reference to the inner exception that is the cause of this exception.

Properties

Data	Gets a collection of key/value pairs that provide additional user-defined information about the exception. (Inherited from Exception)
HelpLink	Gets or sets a link to the help file associated with this exception. (Inherited from Exception)
HResult	Gets or sets HRESULT, a coded numerical value that is assigned to a specific exception. (Inherited from Exception)
InnerException	Gets the Exception instance that caused the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)
Message	Gets the error message and the parameter name, or only the error message if no parameter name is set.
ParamName	Gets the name of the parameter that causes this exception.
Source	Gets or sets the name of the application or the object that causes the error. (Inherited from Exception)
StackTrace	Gets a string representation of the immediate frames on the call stack. (Inherited from Exception)
TargetSite	Gets the method that throws the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)

Methods

Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetBaseException()	When overridden in a derived class, returns the Exception that is the root cause of one or more subsequent exceptions. (Inherited from Exception)
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetObjectData(SerializationInfo, StreamingContext)	Obsolete. Sets the SerializationInfo object with the parameter name and additional exception information.
GetType()	Gets the runtime type of the current instance. (Inherited from Exception)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ThrowIfNullOrEmpty(String, String)	Throws an exception if argument is null or empty.
ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(String, String)	Throws an exception if argument is null, empty, or consists only of white-space characters.
ToString()	Creates and returns a string representation of the current exception. (Inherited from Exception)

Events

SerializeObjectState

Obsolete. Occurs when an exception is serialized to create an exception state object that contains serialized data about the exception. (Inherited from Exception)

See also

• Exception
• Handling and Throwing Exceptions