Define accessors for attribute arguments<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Cause: In its constructor, an attribute defines arguments that do not have corresponding properties.

Rule Description

Attributes can define mandatory arguments that must be specified when applying the attribute to a target. These are sometimes called positional arguments because they are supplied to attribute constructors as positional parameters. For every mandatory argument, the attribute should also provide a corresponding read-only property so that the value of the argument can be retrieved at execution time. This rule checks to see that for each constructor parameter, you have defined the corresponding property.

Attributes can also define optional arguments, called named arguments. These arguments are supplied to attribute constructors by name and should have a corresponding read/write property.

For mandatory and optional arguments, the corresponding properties and constructor parameters should use the same name but different casing. (Properties use Pascal casing, and parameters use camel casing.)

How to Fix Violations

To fix a violation of this rule, add a read-only property for each constructor parameter that does not have one.

When to Exclude Messages

Exclude a message from this rule if you do not want the value of the mandatory argument to be retrievable.

Example Code

The following example shows two attributes that define a mandatory (positional) parameter. The first implementation of the attribute is incorrectly defined. The second implementation is correct.

[Visual Basic]

[C#]

Related Rules

Avoid unsealed attributes

See Also

Attribute Usage Guidelines