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C# Attribute Shorthand Notation

If you were reading closely, you may have noticed that the actual class name of the [Obsolete]

attribute is ObsoleteAttribute, not Obsolete. As a naming convention, all .NET attributes (including

custom attributes you may create yourself ) are suffixed with the Attribute token. However, to

simplify the process of applying attributes, the C# language does not require you to type in the

Attribute suffix. Given this, the following iteration of the HorseAndBuggy type is identical to the

previous (it just involves a few more keystrokes):

[SerializableAttribute]

[ObsoleteAttribute("Use another vehicle!")]

public class HorseAndBuggy

{

// ...

}

Be aware that this is a courtesy provided by C#. Not all .NET-enabled languages support this

shorthand attribute syntax. In any case, at this point you should hopefully understand the following

key points regarding .NET attributes:

• Attributes are classes that derive from System.Attribute.

• Attributes result in embedded metadata.

• Attributes are basically useless until another agent reflects upon them.

• Attributes are applied in C# using square brackets.

Next up, let’s examine how you can build your own custom attributes and a piece of custom

software that reflects over the embedded metadata.