Is there a standard framework for .NET parameter validation that uses attributes?

Question

Is there a standard framework (maybe part of Enterprise Library... or .NET itself) that allows you to do common parameter validation in method attributes?

Answer 1

Dynamic Data for ASP.NET (and ASP.NET MVC) lets you do validation for model properties using attributes.

Answer 2

The Microsoft Enterprise Library has the Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Validation library/namespace which allows validation using attributes.

Answer 3

You could also use postsharp and implement your own attributes for validation.

Answer 4

Microsoft Code Contracts, which are part of .NET Framework since 4.0 CTP and are available for earlier .NET Framework versions as a stand-alone package, allow to specify coding assumptions. This includes specifying pre-conditions which can verify parameters.

An example use for parameter checking would be (copied from Code Contracts documentation):

public Rational(int numerator, int denominator)
{
    Contract.Requires(denominator ! = 0);

    this.numerator = numerator;
    this.denominator = denominator;
}

The benefit of using Code Contracts is that it is a library which will be part of future .NET Framework releases, so sooner or later you will have one dependency less in your application.

EDIT: Just noticed that your specifically asking for a library that uses Attributes for argument checking... that Code Contracts does not. The reason why Code Contracts does not use attributes is listed in their FAQ:

The advantage of using custom attributes is that they do not impact the code at all. However, the benefits of using method calls far outweigh the seemingly natural first choice of attributes:

Runtime support: Without depending on a binary rewriter, contracts expressed with attributes cannot be enforced at runtime. This means that if there are preconditions (or other contracts) that you want enforced at runtime, you need to either duplicate the contracts in the code or else include a binary rewriter in your build process. Contract.RequiresAlways serves both as a declarative contract and as a runtime-checked validation.

Need for parsing: Since the values that can be used with custom attributes are limited, conditions end up being encoded as strings. This requires defining a new language that is appropriate for all source languages, requires the strings to be parsed, duplicating all of the functionality the compiler already possesses.

Lack of IDE support: Expressed as strings, there is no support for Intellisense, type checking, or refactoring, all of which are available for authoring contracts as code.

Answer 5

Here is an example using PostSharp http://dpatrickcaldwell.blogspot.com/2009/03/validate-parameters-using-attributes.html

Answer 6

While Microsoft Code Contracts are out for a while, they are still hosted in MS Research and you cannot use configuration (app.config/database etc.) to switch on/off or even change rules. My library Bouncer does provide declarive rule definition: attributes in source code or app.config entries for rules at the entity class/property level. The library is opensource under LGPL (you can freely use it in commercial products). If you configure the rules via app.config you can adjust the rule settings without the need of a recompile.