ArgumentException Class
Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.
The exception that is thrown when one of the arguments provided to a method is not valid.
Inheritance Hierarchy
System.Object
System.Exception
System.SystemException
System.ArgumentException
System.ArgumentNullException
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException
System.Globalization.CultureNotFoundException
System.Text.DecoderFallbackException
System.Text.EncoderFallbackException
Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
'Declaration
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Class ArgumentException _
Inherits SystemException
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public class ArgumentException : SystemException
The ArgumentException type exposes the following members.
Constructors
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
.gif "Public method") .gif "Supported by Silverlight for Windows Phone") .gif "Supported by Xbox 360") |
ArgumentException() | Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class. |
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ArgumentException(String) | Initializes a new instance of the ArgumentException class with a specified error message. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Properties
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
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Data | Gets a collection of key/value pairs that provide additional user-defined information about the exception. (Inherited from Exception.) |
.gif "Protected property") |
HResult | Gets or sets HRESULT, a coded numerical value that is assigned to a specific exception. (Inherited from Exception.) |
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InnerException | Gets the Exception instance that caused the current exception. (Inherited from Exception.) |
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Message | Gets the error message and the parameter name, or only the error message if no parameter name is set. (Overrides Exception.Message.) |
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StackTrace | Gets a string representation of the frames on the call stack at the time the current exception was thrown. (Inherited from Exception.) |
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Methods
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
|
Equals(Object) | Determines whether the specified Object is equal to the current Object. (Inherited from Object.) |
.gif "Protected method") |
Finalize | Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before the Object is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.) |
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GetBaseException | When overridden in a derived class, returns the Exception that is the root cause of one or more subsequent exceptions. (Inherited from Exception.) |
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GetHashCode | Serves as a hash function for a particular type. (Inherited from Object.) |
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GetType | Gets the runtime type of the current instance. (Inherited from Exception.) |
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MemberwiseClone | Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.) |
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ToString | Creates and returns a string representation of the current exception. (Inherited from Exception.) |
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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. All instances of ArgumentException should carry a meaningful error message describing the invalid argument, as well as 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 nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) 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.
Platform Notes
.png "Silverlight for Windows Phone"){kind=icon}
Silverlight for Windows Phone
ArgumentException displays the message Argument Exception instead of Exception of type 'System.ArgumentException'.
Examples
The following example demonstrates how to throw and catch an ArgumentException.
.gif "Note") Note: |
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To run this example, see Building Examples That Use a Demo Method and a TextBlock Control. |
Public Class Example
Public Shared Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
' ArgumentException is not thrown because 10 is an even number.
outputBlock.Text += String.Format("10 divided by 2 is {0}", DivideByTwo(10)) & vbCrLf
Try
' ArgumentException is thrown because 7 is not an even number.
outputBlock.Text += String.Format("7 divided by 2 is {0}", DivideByTwo(7)) & vbCrLf
Catch Ex As ArgumentException
' Show the user that 7 cannot be divided by 2.
outputBlock.Text &= "7 is not divided by 2 integrally." & vbCrLf
End Try
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("Number must be even", "num")
End If
Return (num / 2)
End Function
End Class
' This code produces the following output.
'
' 10 divided by 2 is 5
' 7 is not divided by 2 integrally.
using System;
public sealed class Example
{
public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
{
// ArgumentException is not thrown because 10 is an even number.
outputBlock.Text += String.Format("10 divided by 2 is {0}", DivideByTwo(10)) + "\n";
try
{
// ArgumentException is thrown because 7 is not an even number.
outputBlock.Text += String.Format("7 divided by 2 is {0}", DivideByTwo(7)) + "\n";
}
catch (ArgumentException)
{
// Show the user that 7 cannot be divided by 2.
outputBlock.Text += "7 is not divided by 2 integrally." + "\n";
}
}
static int DivideByTwo(int num)
{
// If num is an odd number, throw an ArgumentException.
if ((num & 1) == 1)
throw new ArgumentException("Number must be even", "num");
// num is even, return half of its value.
return num / 2;
}
}
// This code produces the following output.
//
// 10 divided by 2 is 5
// 7 is not divided by 2 integrally.
Version Information
Silverlight
Supported in: 5, 4, 3
Silverlight for Windows Phone
Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0
XNA Framework
Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0
Platforms
For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.
Thread Safety
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.