Question

What would be the correct (and best) way to code in limits as to what values a property can get?

For example, suppose I have the following simple class:

Public Class MyClass
   Public Property MyDate As Date

Now, suppose MyDate gets set at run-time, but can’t take any values less than a year ago.

Is it correct to throw an exception in the MyDate’s setter and then program this in my main module in a Try...Catch fashion and then alert the user if the value is bad or is there a better way to do this?

I’m sure this is a stupidly simple question, but I just want to make sure I’m doing this according to best programming practices.

Answer 1

Yes, throwing and exception is a good idea. ArgumentOutOfRangeException seems to be the best in that situation. Following the MSDN:

The exception that is thrown when the value of an argument is outside
the allowable range of values as defined by the invoked method.