ConditionalAttribute Class
Indicates to compilers that a method is callable if a specified preprocessing identifier is applied to the method.
For a list of all members of this type, see ConditionalAttribute Members.
System.Object
System.Attribute
System.Diagnostics.ConditionalAttribute
[Visual Basic] <AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Method)> <Serializable> NotInheritable Public Class ConditionalAttribute Inherits Attribute [C#] [AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Method)] [Serializable] public sealed class ConditionalAttribute : Attribute [C++] [AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets::Method)] [Serializable] public __gc __sealed class ConditionalAttribute : public Attribute [JScript] public AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Method) Serializable class ConditionalAttribute extends Attribute
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.
Remarks
The ConditionalAttribute supports the conditional methods defined in the Trace and Debug classes.
Methods decorated with the ConditionalAttribute attribute are always compiled into Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL), but calls to the methods can not be made at run time. If the method has arguments, they are type-checked at run time, but not evaluated.
Note Visual Studio .NET compiles Release builds with the TRACE conditional compilation constant defined, and Debug builds with both the DEBUG and TRACE constants defined, by default. For command-line builds, you must specify all conditional compilation constants.
Note A ConditionalAttribute that has an associated ConditionString can be attached to the definition of a method, creating a conditional method. Thereafter, when a compiler encounters a call to that method, it can choose to ignore the call unless a compilation variable is defined at the site of the call, with a value that matches in a case-sensitive manner the ConditionString supplied to the ConditionalAttribute.
Compilers might provide several techniques to define such compilation variables, such as:
- Compiler command-line switches (for example,/define:DEBUG).
- Environment variables in the operating system shell (for example, SET DEBUG=1).
- Pragmas in the source code (for example, #define DEBUG, to define the compilation variable, or #undef DEBUG to undefine it).
CLS-compliant compilers are permitted to ignore the ConditionalAttribute.
For more information about using attributes, see Extending Metadata Using Attributes.
Example
[Visual Basic, C#, C++] The following console application example demonstrates the use of ConditionalAttribute with a particular compiler that supports the use of this attribute.
[Visual Basic] Imports System Imports System.Diagnostics Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic Public Class Module1 Public Shared Sub Main() Console.WriteLine("Console.WriteLine is always displayed.") Dim myWriter As New TextWriterTraceListener(System.Console.Out) Debug.Listeners.Add(myWriter) Dim A As New Module1() A.Sub1() End Sub 'Main <Conditional("CONDITION1"), Conditional("CONDITION2")> _ Public Sub Sub1() Sub2() Sub3() End Sub <Conditional("CONDITION1")> _ Public Sub Sub2() Debug.WriteLine("CONDITION1 and DEBUG are defined") End Sub <Conditional("CONDITION2")> _ Public Sub Sub3() Debug.WriteLine("CONDITION2 and DEBUG are defined") Trace.WriteLine("CONDITION2 and TRACE are defined") End Sub End Class ' This console application produces the following output when compiled as shown. ' 'C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASVB>vbc /out:CASVB.exe /d:CONDITION1=1 /r:System.dll /target:exe CAS.vb 'Microsoft (R) Visual Basic .NET Compiler version 7.00.9429 'for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.00.3529 'Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1987-2001. All rights reserved. 'C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASVB>CASVB ' 'Console.WriteLine is always displayed. 'C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASVB>vbc /out:CASVB.exe /d:CONDITION1=1,DEBUG=1 /r:System.dll /target:exe CAS.vb 'Microsoft (R) Visual Basic .NET Compiler version 7.00.9429 'for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.00.3529 'Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1987-2001. All rights reserved. 'C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASVB>CASVB ' 'Console.WriteLine is always displayed. 'CONDITION1 and DEBUG are defined 'C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASVB>vbc /out:CASVB.exe /d:CONDITION1=1,CONDITION2=1,DEBUG=1 /r:System.dll /target:exe CAS.vb 'Microsoft (R) Visual Basic .NET Compiler version 7.00.9429 'for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.00.3529 'Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1987-2001. All rights reserved. 'C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASVB>CASVB ' 'Console.WriteLine is always displayed. 'CONDITION1 and DEBUG are defined 'CONDITION2 and DEBUG are defined [C#] using System; using System.Diagnostics; class Class1 { [STAThread] static void Main(string[] args) { TextWriterTraceListener myWriter = new TextWriterTraceListener(System.Console.Out); Debug.Listeners.Add(myWriter); Console.WriteLine("Console.WriteLine is always displayed"); Method1(); Method2(); } [Conditional("CONDITION1")] public static void Method1() { Debug.Write("Method1 - DEBUG and CONDITION1 are specified\n"); Trace.Write("Method1 - TRACE and CONDITION1 are specified\n"); } [Conditional("CONDITION1"), Conditional("CONDITION2")] public static void Method2() { Debug.Write("Method2 - DEBUG, CONDITION1 or CONDITION2 are specified\n"); } } /* This console application produces the following output when compiled as shown. C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASCS>csc /target:exe /d:CONDITION1,DEBUG,TRACE /out:CASCS.exe CAS.cs Microsoft (R) Visual C# .NET Compiler version 7.00.9429 for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.0.3529 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2001. All rights reserved. C:\PP\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASCS>CASCS Console.WriteLine is always displayed Method1 - DEBUG and CONDITION1 are specified Method1 - TRACE and CONDITION1 are specified Method2 - DEBUG, CONDITION1 or CONDITION2 are specified C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASCS>csc /target:exe /d:CONDITION2,DEBUG,TRACE /out:CASCS.exe CAS.cs Microsoft (R) Visual C# .NET Compiler version 7.00.9429 for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.0.3529 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2001. All rights reserved. C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASCS>CASCS Console.WriteLine is always displayed Method2 - DEBUG, CONDITION1 or CONDITION2 are specified C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASCS>csc /target:exe /d:CONDITION1,TRACE /out:CASCS.exe CAS.cs Microsoft (R) Visual C# .NET Compiler version 7.00.9429 for Microsoft (R) .NET Framework version 1.0.3529 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 2001. All rights reserved. C:\samples\ConditionalAttributeSample\CASCS>CASCS Console.WriteLine is always displayed Method1 - TRACE and CONDITION1 are specified */ [C++] /* C++ with Managed Extensions uses the C++ standard preprocessor. Use the preprocessor directives rather than this attribute. */
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Requirements
Namespace: System.Diagnostics
Platforms: Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 family, .NET Compact Framework
Assembly: Mscorlib (in Mscorlib.dll)