Gets the Exception instance that caused the current exception.
(in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public ReadOnly Property InnerException As Exception
Dim instance As Exception
Dim value As Exception
value = instance.InnerException
public Exception InnerException { get; }
public:
virtual property Exception^ InnerException {
Exception^ get () sealed;
}
public final function get InnerException () : Exception
Property Value
Type:
System..::.ExceptionAn instance of Exception that describes the error that caused the current exception. The InnerException property returns the same value as was passed into the constructor, or a null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) if the inner exception value was not supplied to the constructor. This property is read-only.
Implements
_Exception..::.InnerException
When an exception X is thrown as a direct result of a previous exception Y, the InnerException property of X should contain a reference to Y.
Use the InnerException property to obtain the set of exceptions that led to the current exception.
You can create a new exception that catches an earlier exception. The code that handles the second exception can make use of the additional information from the earlier exception to handle the error more appropriately.
Suppose that there is a function that reads a file and formats the data from that file. In this example, as the code tries to read the file, an IOException is thrown. The function catches the IOException and throws a FileNotFoundException. The IOException could be saved in the InnerException property of the FileNotFoundException, enabling the code that catches the FileNotFoundException to examine what causes the initial error.
The InnerException property, which holds a reference to the inner exception, is set upon initialization of the exception object.
The following example demonstrates throwing and catching an exception that references an inner exception.
Imports System
Public Class MyAppException
Inherits ApplicationException
Public Sub New(message As [String])
MyBase.New(message)
End Sub 'New
Public Sub New(message As [String], inner As Exception)
MyBase.New(message, inner)
End Sub 'New
End Class 'MyAppException
Public Class ExceptExample
Public Sub ThrowInner()
Throw New MyAppException("ExceptExample inner exception")
End Sub 'ThrowInner
Public Sub CatchInner()
Try
Me.ThrowInner()
Catch e As Exception
Throw New MyAppException("Error caused by trying ThrowInner.", e)
End Try
End Sub 'CatchInner
End Class 'ExceptExample
Public Class Test
Public Shared Sub Main()
Dim testInstance As New ExceptExample()
Try
testInstance.CatchInner()
Catch e As Exception
Console.WriteLine("In Main catch block. Caught: {0}", e.Message)
Console.WriteLine("Inner Exception is {0}", e.InnerException)
End Try
End Sub 'Main
End Class 'Test
using System;
public class MyAppException:ApplicationException
{
public MyAppException (String message) : base (message)
{}
public MyAppException (String message, Exception inner) : base(message,inner) {}
}
public class ExceptExample
{
public void ThrowInner ()
{
throw new MyAppException("ExceptExample inner exception");
}
public void CatchInner()
{
try
{
this.ThrowInner();
}
catch (Exception e)
{
throw new MyAppException("Error caused by trying ThrowInner.",e);
}
}
}
public class Test
{
public static void Main()
{
ExceptExample testInstance = new ExceptExample();
try
{
testInstance.CatchInner();
}
catch(Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine ("In Main catch block. Caught: {0}", e.Message);
Console.WriteLine ("Inner Exception is {0}",e.InnerException);
}
}
}
using namespace System;
public ref class MyAppException: public ApplicationException
{
public:
MyAppException( String^ message )
: ApplicationException( message )
{}
MyAppException( String^ message, Exception^ inner )
: ApplicationException( message, inner )
{}
};
public ref class ExceptExample
{
public:
void ThrowInner()
{
throw gcnew MyAppException( "ExceptExample inner exception" );
}
void CatchInner()
{
try
{
this->ThrowInner();
}
catch ( Exception^ e )
{
throw gcnew MyAppException( "Error caused by trying ThrowInner.",e );
}
}
};
int main()
{
ExceptExample^ testInstance = gcnew ExceptExample;
try
{
testInstance->CatchInner();
}
catch ( Exception^ e )
{
Console::WriteLine( "In Main catch block. Caught: {0}", e->Message );
Console::WriteLine( "Inner Exception is {0}", e->InnerException );
}
}
This code has the following output:
In Main
catch block. Caught: Error caused by trying ThrowInner. Inner Exception is
MyAppException: ExceptExample inner exception at ExceptExample.ThrowInner() at
ExceptExample.CatchInner()
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune
The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0
XNA Framework
Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
Reference