Attributes in C# - GeeksforGeeks

Attributes are used in C# to convey declarative information or metadata about various code elements such as methods, assemblies, properties, types, etc. Attributes are added to the code by using a declarative tag that is placed using square brackets ([ ]) on top of the required code element. There are two types of Attributes implementations provided by the .NET Framework are:

Predefined Attributes

Custom Attributes

Properties of Attributes:

Attributes can have arguments just like methods, properties, etc. can have arguments.
Attributes can have zero or more parameters.
Different code elements such as methods, assemblies, properties, types, etc. can have one or multiple attributes.
Reflection can be used to obtain the metadata of the program by accessing the attributes at run-time.
Attributes are generally derived from the System.Attribute Class.

1. Predefined Attributes

Predefined attributes are those attributes that are a part of the .NET Framework Class Library and are supported by the C# compiler for a specific purpose. Some of the predefined attributes that are derived from the System.Attribute base class are given as follows:

Attribute	Description
AttributeUsageAttribute	This attribute specifies the usage of a different attribute.
CLSCompliantAttribute	This attribute shows if a particular code element complies with the Common Language Specification.
ContextStaticAttribute	This attribute indicates if a static field value is unique for the specified context.
FlagsAttribute	This attribute indicates if a static field value is unique for the specified context.
LoaderOptimizationAttribute	This attribute sets the optimization policy for the default loader in the main method.
NonSerializedAttribute	This attribute signifies that the field of the serializable class should not be serialized.
ObsoleteAttribute	This attribute marks the code elements that are obsolete i.e. not in use anymore.
SerializableAttribute	This attribute signifies that the field of the serializable class can be serialized.
ThreadStaticAttribute	This attribute indicates that there is a unique static field value for each thread.
DllImportAttribute	This attribute indicates that the method is a static entry point as shown by the unmanaged DLL.

Let’s discuss some of the predefined attributes:

CLSCompliantAttribute

This attribute shows if a particular code element complies with the Common Language Specification. If a particular code element complies with the Common Language Specification. If it doesn’t, then a warning message is issued by the compiler.

Example 1: Here, it will not give any warning message and code compiles successfully.

// C# program to demonstrate CLSCompliantAttribute 
using System; 
  
// CLSCompliantAttribute applied to entire assembly 
[assembly:CLSCompliant(true)] 
  
    public class GFG { 
  
    // Main Method 
    public static void Main(string[] args) 
    { 
        Console.WriteLine("GeeksForGeeks"); 
    } 
} 

Output:

GeeksForGeeks

Example 2: This code will give a warning message by the compiler.

// C# program to demonstrate CLSCompliantAttribute 
// giving a warning message 
using System; 
  
// CLSCompliantAttribute applied to entire assembly 
[assembly:CLSCompliant(true)] 
  
    public class GFG { 
    public uint z; 
} 
  
class GFG2 { 
  
// Main Method 
public static void Main(string[] args) 
{ 
    Console.WriteLine("GeeksForGeeks"); 
} 
  
} 

Warning:

prog.cs(9,14): warning CS3003: Type of `GFG.z’ is not CLS-compliant

FlagsAttribute

The FlagsAttribute specifies that an enumeration can be used as a set of flags. This is most commonly used with bitwise operators.

Example:

// C# program to demonstrate FlagsAttribute 
using System; 
  
class GFG { 
  
    // Enum defined without FlagsAttribute. 
    enum Colours { Red = 1, 
                   Blue = 2, 
                   Pink = 4, 
                   Green = 8 
    } 
  
    // Enum defined with FlagsAttribute. 
    [Flags] enum ColoursFlags { Red = 1, 
                                Blue = 2, 
                                Pink = 4, 
                                Green = 8 
    } 
  
    // Main Method 
    public static void Main(string[] args) 
    { 
        Console.WriteLine((Colours.Red | Colours.Blue).ToString()); 
        Console.WriteLine((ColoursFlags.Red | ColoursFlags.Blue).ToString()); 
    } 
} 

Output:

3
Red, Blue

ObsoleteAttribute

The ObsoleteAttribute marks the code elements that are obsolete i.e. not in use anymore. Calling these obsolete code elements results in a compiler error.

Example:

// C# program to demonstrate ObsoleteAttribute 
using System; 
  
class GFG { 
  
    // The method1() is marked as obsolete 
    [Obsolete("method1 is obsolete", true)] static void method1() 
    { 
        Console.WriteLine("This is method1"); 
    } 
  
    static void method2() 
    { 
        Console.WriteLine("This is method2"); 
    } 
  
    public static void Main(string[] args) 
    { 
        method1(); // Compiler error as method1() is obsolete 
        method2(); 
    } 
} 

Compile Errors:

prog.cs(18,3): error CS0619: `GFG.method1()’ is obsolete: `method1 is obsolete’

Custom Attributes

Custom attributes can be created in C# for attaching declarative information to methods, assemblies, properties, types, etc. in any way required. This increases the extensibility of the .NET framework.

Steps for creating Custom Attributes:

Define a custom attribute class that is derived from System.Attribute class.
The custom attribute class name should have the suffix Attribute.
Use the attribute AttributeUsage to specify the usage of the custom attribute class created.
Create the constructor and the accessible properties of the custom attribute class.

Example:

// C# program to demonstrate Custom Attributes 
using System; 
  
// AttributeUsage specifies the usage 
// of InformationAttribute 
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class | AttributeTargets.Constructor |  
                        AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = true)] 
  
    // InformationAttribute is a custom attribute class 
    // that is derived from Attribute class 
    class InformationAttribute : Attribute 
    { 
        public string InformationString{ get; set; } 
    } 
  
// InformationAttribute is used in student class 
[Information(InformationString = "Class")] public class student 
{ 
  
    private int rollno; 
    private string name; 
  
    [Information(InformationString = "Constructor")] public student(int rollno, string name) 
    { 
        this.rollno = rollno; 
        this.name = name; 
    } 
  
    [Information(InformationString = "Method")] public void display() 
    { 
        Console.WriteLine("Roll Number: {0}", rollno); 
        Console.WriteLine("Name: {0}", name); 
    } 
} 
  
// Driver Class 
public class GFG { 
  
    // Main Method 
    public static void Main(string[] args) 
    { 
        student s = new student(1001, "Lily Adams"); 
        s.display(); 
    } 
} 

Output:

Roll Number: 1001
Name: Lily Adams

My Personal Notes

1. Predefined Attributes

CLSCompliantAttribute

FlagsAttribute

ObsoleteAttribute

Custom Attributes

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