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Asked: 2026-05-29T22:45:43+00:00

Unsurprisingly , following code will throw an ArgumentNullException IEnumerable<string> collection = null; string[] collectionViewAsAnArray

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Unsurprisingly, following code will throw an ArgumentNullException

IEnumerable<string> collection = null;
string[] collectionViewAsAnArray = collection.ToArray();

This looks obvious at first sight … but ain’t incoherent to argue that returning null may have been a reasonnable alternative (Accounting that ToArray() is an extension method and therefor can be called, even on null).

While I acknowledge, this way, extension behave like a real method, I can’t help finding the other approach really smart too … but this may lead to other issues?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Why push the error to some other spot in your code? If you expect that something can be null, check it before you use it. Otherwise throw an error exactly at the spot where your assumption was false, namely when you tried to convert it to an array.

    I understand it can be debatable when you’re chaining operations but in those cases I’ve found it easier to work with an empty IEnumerable rather than a null one.

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