CLSCompliantAttribute Class (System)

CLSCompliantAttribute Class

.NET Framework Class Library

CLSCompliantAttribute Class

Indicates whether a program element is compliant with the Common Language Specification (CLS). This class cannot be inherited.

Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.All, Inherited := True, AllowMultiple := False)> _
Public NotInheritable Class CLSCompliantAttribute _
    Inherits Attribute

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As CLSCompliantAttribute

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.All, Inherited = true, AllowMultiple = false)]
public sealed class CLSCompliantAttribute : Attribute

Visual C++

[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets::All, Inherited = true, AllowMultiple = false)]
public ref class CLSCompliantAttribute sealed : public Attribute

JScript

public final class CLSCompliantAttribute extends Attribute

Remarks

You can apply the CLSCompliantAttribute attribute to the following program elements: assembly, module, class, struct, enum, constructor, method, property, field, event, interface, delegate, parameter, and return value. However, the notion of CLS compliance is only meaningful for assemblies, modules, types, and members of types, not parts of a member signature. Consequently, CLSCompliantAttribute is ignored when applied to parameter or return value program elements.

If no CLSCompliantAttribute is applied to a program element, then by default:

The assembly is not CLS-compliant.
The type is CLS-compliant only if its enclosing type or assembly is CLS-compliant.
The member of a type is CLS-compliant only if the type is CLS-compliant.

If an assembly is marked as CLS-compliant, any publicly exposed type in the assembly that is not CLS-compliant must be marked with CLSCompliantAttribute using a false argument. Similarly, if a class is marked as CLS-compliant, you must individually mark all members that are not CLS-compliant. All non-compliant members must provide corresponding CLS-compliant alternatives.

Attributes that are applied to assemblies or modules must occur after the C# using (Imports in Visual Basic) clauses and before the code.

For more information about using attributes, see Extending Metadata Using Attributes.

Note:
The current Microsoft Visual Basic compiler intentionally does not generate a CLS-compliance warning, however, a future release of the compiler will issue that warning.

Examples

The following example applies a CLSCompliantAttribute to the entire assembly.

using System;
    [assembly: CLSCompliant(true)]

The following declaration generates a CLS-compliance warning because the type UInt32 is not specified in the CLS.

 public int SetValue(UInt32 value);

If the declaration is marked with a CLSCompliantAttribute, no compiler warning or error is generated.

[CLSCompliant(false)]
 public int SetValue(UInt32 value);

Inheritance Hierarchy

System..::.Object
System..::.Attribute
System..::.CLSCompliantAttribute

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.

Platforms

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.

Version Information

.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

CLSCompliantAttribute Members

System Namespace

Attribute

Other Resources

Common Language Specification

Extending Metadata Using Attributes