MulticastDelegate exception being thrown only in production environment - c#

I have a very weird issue occurring only in production environment.
The exception has the message
"Delegate to an instance method cannot have null 'this'".
The method where the exception is being thrown is very simple, and worked for a long time, so
the problem must be an obscure dependency in the environment, or something like that...
I'm using ASP.NET Web API, hosted in Azure, and the action method of controller is executed via AJAX.
Here is the code where the exception was thrown:
public class BlacklistService : IBlacklistService
{
public bool Verify(string blacklist, string message)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(blacklist)) return true;
var split = blacklist.ToLower().Split(';'); // exception is thrown here
return !split.Any(message.Contains);
}
}
Here is the relevant part of stack trace:
at System.MulticastDelegate.ThrowNullThisInDelegateToInstance()
at System.MulticastDelegate.CtorClosed(Object target, IntPtr methodPtr)
at MyApp.Business.Services.BlacklistService.Verify(String blacklist, String message)
at MyApp.Business.Services.ContactMessageFactory.GetVerifiedStatus(String mensagem)
at MyApp.Business.Services.ContactMessageFactory.GetMailMessage(ContactForm contactForm)
at MyApp.Business.ContactEmailService.Send(ContactForm contactForm)
Someone can figure out the possible causes of this exception? Thanks in advance.

The problem lays with the fact that message is actually null. You can reproduce this quite easily:
void Main()
{
Verify("hello", null);
}
public bool Verify(string blacklist, string message)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(blacklist)) return true;
var split = blacklist.ToLower().Split(';'); // exception is thrown here
return !split.Any(message.Contains);
}
What happens is that message.Contains is passed to Func<string, bool> constructor via the method group conversion, it looks like this:
Func<string, bool> func = ((string)null).Contains;
return !split.Any(func);
And that is what causes MulticastDelegate to go bananas. You can also see that in the generated IL:
IL_0028: ldftn System.String.Contains
IL_002E: newobj System.Func<System.String,System.Boolean>..ctor
IL_0033: call System.Linq.Enumerable.Any
In order for this not to happen, make sure you null check message as well:
public bool Verify(string blacklist, string message)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(blacklist)) return true;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(message)) return false;
var split = blacklist.ToLower().Split(';'); // exception is thrown here
return !split.Any(message.Contains);
}

The delegate having a null this is the method string.Contains() used towards the end, which uses your message variable as the this pointer. In other words, there is a call made where message is null.

Fails when message is null. Can use this
return !split.Any(part => (message != null && message.Contains(part)));

Related

What is the inline syntax for returning a value from an anonymous function?

I've looked up numerous similar posts on StackOverflow, but they don't seem to come close to my issue as my lambda is within a Coroutine.
My code :
public string FetchInternetItems()
{
WWW www = new WWW(someURL);
StartCoroutine(WaitForRequest(www, callback => {
if(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(callback))
{
Debug.Log("Successfully worked..");
}
else
{
return "Did not connect to remote server.";
}
}));
Excerpt from WaitForRequest :
IEnumerator WaitForRequest(WWW www, Action<string> callback)
{
yield return www;
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(www.error))
{
if (callback != null)
{
callback(www.text);
}
}
else
{
Debug.Log("WWW Error: " + www.error);
}
}
Coroutine class can be found here : https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/MonoBehaviour.StartCoroutine.html
Which returns the error :
Anonymous function converted to a void returning delegate cannot return a value
Ideally, I would like it to return the callback, unless nothing came through, and instead return the Did not connect to remote server. message.
Your WaitForRequest-method has a parameter of type Action<string> callback. Action is just a delegate for a method returning nothing (void), thus you can´t call return ... in such a delegate. However your design seems to be broken anyway. In case of an error you return a string, if everything runs correct you want to return the WWW-instance which seems kind of contradictory, doesn´t it?
You could just throw an exception in case of an error instead of returning a string:
IEnumerator WaitForRequest(WWW www, Action<string> callback)
Which you can now call like this:
StartCoroutine(WaitForRequest(www, callback =>
{
if(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(callback))
{
Debug.Log("Successfully worked..");
}
else
{
throw new Exception("Did not connect to remote server.");
}
}
The idea here is that if you can´t connect to the server there is no way for your application to continue working appropriately, so you can leave with an exception.
Have a look at your method signature:
public string FetchInternetItems()
it expects you to return a string.
Instead of returning a string from method scope, you are returning it from an anonymous method.
return "Did not connect to remote server.";
The above line says that you are trying to return a string from anonymous method which doesn't allow it causing following error:
Anonymous function converted to a void returning delegate cannot
return a value
FetchInternetItems() would end its execution without waiting for coroutine WaitForRequest to finish. So both executions are not related to each other. Having said that you won't be able to use response string that you are returning in FetchInternetItems().
To work around this problem, a simple solution is to change the signature to
public void FetchInternetItems(Action<string> callBack);
This is how you would call this method:
FetchInternerItems( result => { Debug.Log("This is response text from www : " + result);});
OR like this:
FetchInternerItems(OnCompleted);
void OnCompleted(string response)
{
Debug.Log("This is response text from www: " + response);
// You can do other stuff here...
}
If there is more to know. please ask in comment sections. Hope this helps.

Is there a way to determine which class called a static method in .NET

We have a central STATIC method that get's called from many different locations of our ASP.NET application.
I need to add some conditional logic to the static method that needs to run only if the method was called from a specific class. One approach would be to add an additional parameter to the static method's signature -- some kind of enum that would represent which class called this static method, but I was hoping .NET offered a more elegant approach.
EDIT: See Sample Code below
I am trying to modify how exceptions are handled. Currently, if we are processing 1000 checks, and there is an exception inside the loop at check 500, checks 500 - 1000 will not be processed.
We have several screens on our website that calls this central method. One of them called Check Creation Wizard, another called ACH Creation Wizard, etc. Well for the ACH Creation Wizard, we want to handle exceptions by simply skipping a failed check, and move on to the rest of the checks. However, for all other wizards, we want to continue failing the remaining batch of checks if one fails.
public static string GenerateChecks(List<CheckJob> checkJobs)
{
foreach (CheckJob check in checkJobs)
{
try
{
bool didGenerate = DoGenerate(check);
if(didGenerate)
{
Account acct = LoadAccount(check.GetParent());
ModifyAccount(acct);
SaveAcct(acct);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
if (Transaction.IsInTransaction)
{
Transaction.Rollback();
}
throw;
}
}
}
This all smells from afar. You can have this in many ways, but detecting the calling class is the wrong way.
Either make a different static method for this specific other class, or have an additional argument.
If you insist on detecting the caller, this can be done in several ways:
Use the stack trace:
var stackFrame = new StackFrame(1);
var callerMethod = stackFrame.GetMethod();
var callingClass = callerMethod.DeclaringType; // <-- this should be your calling class
if(callingClass == typeof(myClass))
{
// do whatever
}
If you use .NET 4.5, you can have caller information. Not specifically the class, but you can get the caller name and source file at the time of compilation. Add a parameter with a default value decorated with [CallerMemberName] or [CallerFilePath], for example:
static MyMethod([CallerFilePath]string callerFile = "")
{
if(callerFile != "")
{
var callerFilename = Path.GetFileName(callerFile);
if(callerFilename == "myClass.cs")
{
// do whatever
}
}
}
Simply use an additional parameter with a default value (or any kind of different signature)
Note that 1 is very slow, and 2 is just awful... so for the better yet: use a different method if you need a different process
Update
After watching your code, it's even more clear that you want to have either two different methods or an argument... for example:
public static string GenerateChecks(List<CheckJob> checkJobs, bool throwOnError = true)
{
//...
catch (Exception ex)
{
if(throwOnError)
{
if (Transaction.IsInTransaction)
{
Transaction.Rollback();
}
throw;
}
}
}
And then pass false to that when you want to keep going
You never make a decision on what to do based on who called you. You allow the caller to make that decision by providing a feature.
You want a single method to do two different things on error. So either (1) write two methods, and have the caller decide which one to call, or (2) make the method take a Boolean that changes its behaviour, and have the caller decide which Boolean to pass, true or false.
Adding a parameter is definitely more "elegant". Make the parameter optional (by providing a default value, e.g. bool and false) and only execute the special code if the parameter is explicitly set to true.
The alternative, though not as "elegant" as you can read from the comments, would be to search the StackTrace for the calling code.
I think, you can use StackTrace class, but this logic is not very good
You can use StackTrace like this
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Do();
}
static void Do()
{
DosomethingElse();
}
private static void DosomethingElse()
{
StackTrace stackTrace = new StackTrace();
foreach (StackFrame Frame in stackTrace.GetFrames())
{
Console.WriteLine(Frame);
}
}
and this would be the output
{DosomethingElse at offset 77 in file:line:column <filename unknown>:0:0}
{Do at offset 37 in file:line:column <filename unknown>:0:0}
{Main at offset 40 in file:line:column <filename unknown>:0:0}
....

it is possible to get stacktrace of methods calls inside call method?

I want to add more info to the logger at the call method level, and i need to know if exist possibility to get StackTrace of methods calls inside call method.
UPDATE: The purpose of this is to draw the flow of all methods called until the certain step inside call method.
EXAMPLE:
public class Type1
{
internal string method2_T1() {
return new Type2().method1_T2();
}
}
public class Type2
{
public string method1_T2()
{
return "Type2.method1_T2";
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string t = new Type1().method2_T1();
LogNow();
....
}
and the result to obtain, when I call LogNow(), are:
StackTrace of method2_T1()
...
Thanks
It's pretty easy:
var stackTrace = new StackTrace(true);
var traceToLog = stackTrace.ToString();
The true argument says to include the file info.
Todd Sprang's answer is good as the actual answer, but be aware that the stack trace will change in unpredictable ways when you move to a RELEASE build, or use async/await. Don't rely programatically on the answers because you may come unstuck when you put the code into production.
If you want to know the direct caller of a particular function, in a way Microsoft recommend, there's the useful trick using the [CallerMemberName], [CallerFilePath], and [CallerLineNumber] attributes. Mark up optional parameters like so;
public void LogWithCallerInfo(
string message,
[CallerMemberName] string memberName = "Caller",
[CallerFilePath] string sourceFilePath = "File",
[CallerLineNumber] int sourceLineNumber = 0)
{
WriteProgressMessage(..., memberName, sourceFilePath, sourceLineNumber);
}
and call like this;
LogWithCallerInfo("my message");
The three optional parameters will be replaced with the appropriate call info.

How to get method results with AsyncCallback?

I hope you can help me with the following:
I have a WebService method which is supposed to return an array of CompensationPlanReturnReturn objects.
The method is called like this:
//This is the object I need to instanciate because it contains the method I wanna call
CompensationPlan_Out_SyncService test = new CompensationPlan_Out_SyncService();
//This is the method that is supposed to return me an array of CompensationPlanReturnReturn objects
//The data.ToArray() is the parameter the method need, then I pass the method that I wanna run when the method finishes and I dont know what to pass as the final parameter
test.BeginCompensationPlan_Out_Sync(data.ToArray(), new AsyncCallback(complete), null)
//The method description is:
public System.IAsyncResult BeginCompensationPlan_Out_Sync(CompensationPlanDataCompensationPlan[] CompensationPlanRequest, System.AsyncCallback callback, object asyncState)
//On this method I'd like to access to the resuls (the array of CompensationPlanReturnReturn) but I dont know how
private void complete(IAsyncResult result)
{
lblStatus.Text = "Complete";
}
You need to call test.EndCompensationPlan_Out_Sync(result), which will return the result of the asynchronous operation, or throw an exception if an error occurred.
Async methods breakdown into two submethods - Begin and End.
You need to call EndCompensationPlan_Out_Sync to get the actual result returned by method -
private void complete(IAsyncResult result)
{
var actualResult = test.EndCompensationPlan_Out_Sync(result);
lblStatus.Text = "Complete";
}
Try to use the AsyncState-Property and cast it the the given Type.
Like this:
cSACommand = (SACommand)Result.AsyncState;

Checking if an object is null in C#

I would like to prevent further processing on an object if it is null.
In the following code I check if the object is null by either:
if (!data.Equals(null))
and
if (data != null)
However, I receive a NullReferenceException at dataList.Add(data). If the object was null, it should never have even entered the if-statement!
Thus, I'm asking if this is proper way of checking if an object is null:
public List<Object> dataList;
public bool AddData(ref Object data)
bool success = false;
try
{
// I've also used "if (data != null)" which hasn't worked either
if (!data.Equals(null))
{
//NullReferenceException occurs here ...
dataList.Add(data);
success = doOtherStuff(data);
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
throw new Exception(e.ToString());
}
return success;
}
If this is the proper way of checking if the object is null, what am I doing wrong (how can I prevent further processing on the object to avoid the NullReferenceException)?
It's not data that is null, but dataList.
You need to create one with
public List<Object> dataList = new List<Object>();
Even better: since it's a field, make it private. And if there's nothing preventing you, make it also readonly. Just good practice.
Aside
The correct way to check for nullity is if(data != null). This kind of check is ubiquitous for reference types; even Nullable<T> overrides the equality operator to be a more convenient way of expressing nullable.HasValue when checking for nullity.
If you do if(!data.Equals(null)) then you will get a NullReferenceException if data == null. Which is kind of comical since avoiding this exception was the goal in the first place.
You are also doing this:
catch (Exception e)
{
throw new Exception(e.ToString());
}
This is definitely not good. I can imagine that you put it there just so you can break into the debugger while still inside the method, in which case ignore this paragraph. Otherwise, don't catch exceptions for nothing. And if you do, rethrow them using just throw;.
in C# > 7 use if (obj is null)
For not null use:
   C# 7-8:  if (obj is object)
   C# 9-:    if (obj is not null)
These will ignore any == or != defined by the object (unless of course you want to use them for null checks)
For more, in the C# Language Reference, see is operator.
C# 6 has monadic null checking :)
before:
if (points != null) {
var next = points.FirstOrDefault();
if (next != null && next.X != null) return next.X;
}
return -1;
after:
var bestValue = points?.FirstOrDefault()?.X ?? -1;
Your dataList is null as it has not been instantiated, judging by the code you have posted.
Try:
public List<Object> dataList = new List<Object>();
public bool AddData(ref Object data)
bool success = false;
try
{
if (!data.Equals(null)) // I've also used if(data != null) which hasn't worked either
{
dataList.Add(data); //NullReferenceException occurs here
success = doOtherStuff(data);
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
throw;
}
return success;
}
[Edited to reflect hint by #kelton52]
Simplest way is to do object.ReferenceEquals(null, data)
Since (null==data) is NOT guaranteed to work:
class Nully
{
public static bool operator ==(Nully n, object o)
{
Console.WriteLine("Comparing '" + n + "' with '" + o + "'");
return true;
}
public static bool operator !=(Nully n, object o) { return !(n==o); }
}
void Main()
{
var data = new Nully();
Console.WriteLine(null == data);
Console.WriteLine(object.ReferenceEquals(null, data));
}
Produces:
Comparing '' with 'Nully'
True
False
As of C# 9 you can do
if (obj is null) { ... }
For not null use
if (obj is not null) { ... }
If you need to override this behaviour use == and != accordingly.
No, you should be using !=. If data is actually null then your program will just crash with a NullReferenceException as a result of attempting to call the Equals method on null. Also realize that, if you specifically want to check for reference equality, you should use the Object.ReferenceEquals method as you never know how Equals has been implemented.
Your program is crashing because dataList is null as you never initialize it.
The problem in this case is not that data is null. It is that dataList itself is null.
In the place where you declare dataList you should create a new List object and assign it to the variable.
List<object> dataList = new List<object>();
With c#9 (2020) you can now check a parameter is null with this code:
if (name is null) { }
if (name is not null) { }
You can have more information here
As of C# 8 you can use the 'empty' property pattern (with pattern matching) to ensure an object is not null:
if (obj is { })
{
// 'obj' is not null here
}
This approach means "if the object references an instance of something" (i.e. it's not null).
You can think of this as the opposite of: if (obj is null).... which will return true when the object does not reference an instance of something.
For more info on patterns in C# 8.0 read here.
In addition to #Jose Ortega answer,
its better for use extension method
public static bool IsNull(this object T)
{
return T == null;
}
And use IsNull method for all of object like:
object foo = new object(); //or any object from any class
if (foo.IsNull())
{
// blah blah //
}
Jeffrey L Whitledge is right. Your `dataList´-Object itself is null.
There is also another problem with your code: You are using the ref-keyword, which means the argument data cannot be null! The MSDN says:
An argument passed to a ref parameter must first be initialized. This differs from out, whose arguments do not have to be explicitly initialized before they are passed
It's also not a good idea to use generics with the type `Object´. Generics should avoid boxing/unboxing and also ensure type safety. If you want a common type make your method generic. Finally your code should look like this:
public class Foo<T> where T : MyTypeOrInterface {
public List<T> dataList = new List<T>();
public bool AddData(ref T data) {
bool success = false;
try {
dataList.Add(data);
success = doOtherStuff(data);
} catch (Exception e) {
throw new Exception(e.ToString());
}
return success;
}
private bool doOtherStuff(T data) {
//...
}
}
As others have already pointed out, it's not data but rather likely dataList that is null. In addition to that...
catch-throw is an antipattern that almost always makes me want to throw up every time that I see it. Imagine that something goes wrong deep in something that doOtherStuff() calls. All you get back is an Exception object, thrown at the throw in AddData(). No stack trace, no call information, no state, nothing at all to indicate the real source of the problem, unless you go in and switch your debugger to break on exception thrown rather than exception unhandled. If you are catching an exception and just re-throwing it in any way, particularly if the code in the try block is in any way nontrivial, do yourself (and your colleagues, present and future) a favor and throw out the entire try-catch block. Granted, throw; is better than the alternatives, but you are still giving yourself (or whoever else is trying to fix a bug in the code) completely unnecessary headaches. This is not to say that try-catch-throw is necessarily evil per se, as long as you do something relevant with the exception object that was thrown inside the catch block.
Then there's the potential problems of catching Exception in the first place, but that's another matter, particularly since in this particular case you throw an exception.
Another thing that strikes me as more than a little dangerous is that data could potentially change value during the execution of the function, since you are passing by reference. So the null check might pass but before the code gets to doing anything with the value, it's changed - perhaps to null. I'm not positive if this is a concern or not (it might not be), but it seems worth watching out for.
public static bool isnull(object T)
{
return T == null ? true : false;
}
use:
isnull(object.check.it)
Conditional use:
isnull(object.check.it) ? DoWhenItsTrue : DoWhenItsFalse;
Update (another way) updated 08/31/2017 and 01/25/2021. Thanks for the comment.
public static bool IsNull(object T)
{
return (bool)T ? true : false;
}
Demostration
And for the records, you have my code on Github, go check it out:
https://github.com/j0rt3g4/ValidateNull
PS: This one is especially for you Chayim Friedman, don't use beta software assuming that is all true. Wait for final versions or use your own environment to test, before assuming true beta software without any sort of documentation or demonstration from your end.
Whenever you are creating objects of class you have to check the whether the object is null or not using the below code.
Example:
object1 is object of class
void myFunction(object1)
{
if(object1!=null)
{
object1.value1 //If we miss the null check then here we get the Null Reference exception
}
}
There is a one-liner in .NET 6
ExampleMethod(null);
void ExampleMethod(object param)
{
ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(param);
// Do something
}
I just followed a method that we would usually follow in java script. To convert object to string and then check whether they are null.
var obj = new Object();
var objStr = obj.ToString();
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(objStr)){
// code as per your needs
}
I did more simple (positive way) and it seems to work well.
Since any kind of "object" is at least an object
if (MyObj is Object)
{
//Do something .... for example:
if (MyObj is Button)
MyObj.Enabled = true;
}
You can try like below
public List<Object> dataList;
public bool AddData(ref Object data)
bool success = false;
try
{
if (data != null)
{
dataList.Add(data);
success = doOtherStuff(data);
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
throw new Exception(e.ToString());
}
return success;
}
Here are some extensions I use:
/// <summary>
/// Extensions to the object class
/// </summary>
public static class ObjectExtensions
{
/// <summary>
/// True if the object is null, else false
/// </summary>
public static bool IsNull(this object input) => input is null;
/// <summary>
/// False if the object is null, else true
/// </summary>
public static bool NotNull(this object input) => !IsNull(input);
}
public bool IsVisible(object ClaimCount)
{
bool flag = true;
#region || HIDE COLUMNS ON CONDITION BASIS
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(Convert.ToString(ClaimCount)))
{
Int32 ClaimCnt = Convert.ToInt32(ClaimCount);
if (ClaimCnt == 1)
{
flag = false;
}
}
#endregion
return flag;
}

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