Use collection expression for empty (IDE0301)
Property | Value |
---|---|
Rule ID | IDE0301 |
Title | Use collection expression for empty |
Category | Style |
Subcategory | Language rules (expression-level preferences) |
Applicable languages | C# 12+ |
Options | dotnet_style_prefer_collection_expression |
Overview
This rule looks for code similar to Array.Empty<T>()
(a method call that returns an empty collection) or ImmutableArray<T>.Empty
(a property that returns an empty collection) and offers to replace it with a collection expression ([]
).
Options
Options specify the behavior that you want the rule to enforce. For information about configuring options, see Option format.
dotnet_style_prefer_collection_expression
Property | Value | Description |
---|---|---|
Option name | dotnet_style_prefer_collection_expression | |
Option values | true | when_types_exactly_match |
Prefer to use collection expressions only when types match exactly, for example, int[] i = Array.Empty<int>(); . |
when_types_loosely_match (.NET 9 and later versions)* |
Prefer to use collection expressions even when types match loosely, for example, IEnumerable<int> i = Array.Empty<int>(); . The targeted type must match the type on the right-hand side or be one of the following types: IEnumerable<T>, ICollection<T>, IList<T>, IReadOnlyCollection<T>, IReadOnlyList<T>. |
|
false | never |
Disables the rule. | |
Default option value | true in .NET 8when_types_loosely_match in .NET 9 and later versions |
*The code fix when this option is used might change the semantics of your code.
Example
// Code with violations.
int[] i = Array.Empty<int>();
IEnumerable<int> j = Array.Empty<int>();
ReadOnlySpan<int> span = ReadOnlySpan<int>.Empty;
// Fixed code.
int[] i = [];
IEnumerable<int> j = [];
ReadOnlySpan<int> span = [];
The following code snippet shows an example with a custom type.
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
// IDE0301 violation.
MyList<int> x = MyList<int>.Empty;
// IDE0301 fixed code.
MyList<int> x = [];
}
}
class MyList<T> : IEnumerable<T>
{
public static MyList<T> Empty { get; }
public IEnumerator<T> GetEnumerator() => default;
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator() => default;
}
Suppress a warning
If you want to suppress only a single violation, add preprocessor directives to your source file to disable and then re-enable the rule.
#pragma warning disable IDE0301
// The code that's violating the rule is on this line.
#pragma warning restore IDE0301
To disable the rule for a file, folder, or project, set its severity to none
in the configuration file.
[*.{cs,vb}]
dotnet_diagnostic.IDE0301.severity = none
To disable all of the code-style rules, set the severity for the category Style
to none
in the configuration file.
[*.{cs,vb}]
dotnet_analyzer_diagnostic.category-Style.severity = none
For more information, see How to suppress code analysis warnings.