ASP.NET in a Nutshell

Name

Source

Synopsis

string = HttpException.Source
HttpException.Source = string

Sets or returns a string representing the source of the exception. For custom exceptions that you create and throw, this code may be set to the name of the method and/or class from which the exception is thrown.

Parameters

string

A string that will receive the value from the property.

Example

The code example causes an exception by attempting to set a Session value on a page for which the enableSessionState attribute of the @ Page directive has been set to False. The example code then displays the resulting error message and source:

<%@ Page Language="vb" EnableSessionState="false" %>
  
...
  
Sub Page_Load(  )
   Try
      Session("foo") = "Foo"
   Catch HttpEx As HttpException
      Message.Text = "ERROR:<br/>"
      Message.Text &= "Message: " & HttpEx.Message & "<br/>"
      Message.Text &= "Source: " & HttpEx.Source & "<br/>"
   End Try
End Sub

Notes

In the example, the Source property returns the value System.Web as the source of the Exception, which is not very specific. When creating and throwing your own custom exceptions, be as specific as possible with error messages and source descriptions. Just remember that providing specific information about an exception you’re throwing is no substitute for handling the exception condition within your code instead of throwing an exception. If you have sufficient information about what went wrong to correct the problem, doing so is almost always preferable to throwing an exception that will interrupt ...