.NET Framework Docs

Constructors

Signature	Description
Exception()	Initializes a new instance of the Exception class.
Exception(string message)	Initializes a new instance with a specified error message.
Exception(string message, Exception innerException)	Initializes a new instance with a specified error message and a reference to the inner exception that is the cause of this exception.
protected Exception(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context)	Initializes a new instance with serialized data.

Properties

Name	Type	Description
Message	string	Gets a message that describes the current exception.
StackTrace	string	Gets a stack trace that provides information about the location where the exception was thrown.
InnerException	Exception	Gets the exception instance that caused the current exception.
Data	IDictionary	Gets a collection of user-defined key/value pairs associated with the exception.
HelpLink	string	Gets or sets a link to the help file associated with this exception.
Source	string	Gets or sets the name of the application or the object that causes the error.
HResult	int	Gets or sets coded numeric value assigned to a specific exception.

Methods

Name	Signature	Description
GetBaseException	() : Exception	Returns the root cause of one or more subsequent exceptions.
ToString	() : string	Creates and returns a string representation of the current exception.
GetObjectData	(SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context)	Populates a SerializationInfo with the data needed to serialize the target object.

Basic Usage

using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        try
        {
            ThrowError();
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine($"Caught exception: {ex.Message}");
            Console.WriteLine($"Source: {ex.Source}");
            Console.WriteLine($"StackTrace:\n{ex.StackTrace}");
        }
    }

    static void ThrowError()
    {
        throw new Exception("Something went wrong!");
    }
}

Custom Exception Derivation

using System;

public class InvalidConfigurationException : Exception
{
    public InvalidConfigurationException() { }

    public InvalidConfigurationException(string message)
        : base(message) { }

    public InvalidConfigurationException(string message, Exception inner)
        : base(message, inner) { }
}

All exceptions in .NET derive from System.Exception. It is recommended to throw the most specific exception type possible and to include clear messages and inner exceptions when rethrowing.

• Do not catch generic Exception unless you intend to rethrow or log it globally.
• Use using System.Runtime.Serialization; when implementing custom serialization.
• Set the HelpLink property for user-friendly error references.