Type: System.Diagnostics.BooleanSwitch

System.Diagnostics.BooleanSwitch Class

Assembly: System.dll
Namespace: System.Diagnostics

Summary: Provides a simple on/off switch that controls debugging and tracing output.

C# Syntax:


        public class BooleanSwitch : Switch

Remarks

When the BooleanSwitch constructor cannot find initial switch settings, the new switch is disabled (false) by default. The BooleanSwitch.Enabled property can be used to get the current value of a switch.

You must enable tracing or debugging to use a switch. The following syntax is compiler specific. If you use compilers other than C# or Visual Basic, refer to the documentation for your compiler.

To enable debugging in C#, add the /d:DEBUG flag to the compiler command line when you compile your code, or you can add #define DEBUG to the top of your file. In Visual Basic, add the /d:DEBUG=True flag to the compiler command line.
To enable tracing using in C#, add the /d:TRACE flag to the compiler command line when you compile your code, or add #define TRACE to the top of your file. In Visual Basic, add the /d:TRACE=True flag to the compiler command line.

To set the level of your BooleanSwitch, edit the configuration file corresponding to the name of your application. Within this file, you can add a switch and set its value, remove a switch, or clear all switches previously set by the application. The configuration file should be formatted like the following example:

          <configuration>
           <system.diagnostics>
           <switches>
           <add name="mySwitch" value="10" />
           <add name="myNewSwitch" value="20" />
           <remove name="mySwitch" />
           <clear/>
           </switches>
           </system.diagnostics>
           </configuration>

Note To improve performance, you can make BooleanSwitch members static in your class.

Example

The following example creates a BooleanSwitch and uses the switch to determine whether to print an error message. You create the switch at the class level. The


            Main

method passes its location to


            MyMethod

, which prints an error message and where the error occurred.

 // Class level declaration.
 /* Create a BooleanSwitch for data. This switch is enabled by using values 
  * stored in the Registry or in environmental variables. */
 static BooleanSwitch dataSwitch = new BooleanSwitch("Data", "DataAccess module");
 
 static public void MyMethod(string location) {
    //Insert code here to handle processing.
    if(dataSwitch.Enabled)
       Console.WriteLine("Error happened at " + location);
 }
 
 public static void Main(string[] args) {
    //Run the method which writes an error message specifying the location of the error.
    MyMethod("in Main");
 }

System.Diagnostics.BooleanSwitch Member List:

Public Constructors

ctor #1

Initializes a new instance of the BooleanSwitch class.

Public Properties

Description (inherited from System.Diagnostics.Switch)	Read-only See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.Description Gets a description of the switch.
DisplayName (inherited from System.Diagnostics.Switch)	Read-only See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.DisplayName Gets a name used to identify the switch.
Enabled	Read-write Specifies whether the switch is enabled or disabled.

Public Methods

Equals (inherited from System.Object)	See base class member description: System.Object.Equals Derived from System.Object, the primary base class for all objects.
GetHashCode (inherited from System.Object)	See base class member description: System.Object.GetHashCode Derived from System.Object, the primary base class for all objects.
GetType (inherited from System.Object)	See base class member description: System.Object.GetType Derived from System.Object, the primary base class for all objects.
ToString (inherited from System.Object)	See base class member description: System.Object.ToString Derived from System.Object, the primary base class for all objects.

Protected Properties

SwitchSetting
(inherited from System.Diagnostics.Switch)

Read-write

See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.SwitchSetting

Gets or sets the current setting for this switch.

Protected Methods

Finalize (inherited from System.Object)	See base class member description: System.Object.Finalize Derived from System.Object, the primary base class for all objects.
MemberwiseClone (inherited from System.Object)	See base class member description: System.Object.MemberwiseClone Derived from System.Object, the primary base class for all objects.
OnSwitchSettingChanged (inherited from System.Diagnostics.Switch)	See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.OnSwitchSettingChanged Raises the SwitchSettingChanged event.

Hierarchy:

System.Object

System.Diagnostics.Switch

System.Diagnostics.BooleanSwitch

System.Diagnostics.BooleanSwitch Member Details

ctor #1

Summary: Initializes a new instance of the BooleanSwitch class.

C# Syntax:


            public BooleanSwitch(
   string displayName,
   string description
);

Parameters:

displayName

The name to display on a user interface.

description

The description of the switch.

Remarks

When you create a BooleanSwitch, displayName is used to find initial switch settings. If the constructor cannot find initial settings, the BooleanSwitch.Enabled property is set to disabled (false).

              <configuration>
                  <system.diagnostics>
                     <switches>
                        <add name="mySwitch" value="10" />
                        <add name="myNewSwitch" value="20" />
                        <remove name="mySwitch" />
                        <clear/>
                     </switches>
                  </system.diagnostics>
               </configuration>

Note Your instantiated switches should be static.

Example

The following example creates a BooleanSwitch and uses the switch to determine whether to print an error message. The switch is created at the class level. The


                Main

method passes its location to


                MyMethod

, which prints an error message and where the error occurred.

 // Class level declaration.
 /* Create a BooleanSwitch for data. This switch is enabled by using values 
  * stored in the Registry or in environmental variables. */
 static BooleanSwitch dataSwitch = new BooleanSwitch("Data", "DataAccess module");
 
 static public void MyMethod(string location) {
    //Insert code here to handle processing.
    if(dataSwitch.Enabled)
       Console.WriteLine("Error happened at " + location);
 }
 
 public static void Main(string[] args) {
    //Run the method which writes an error message specifying the location of the error.
    MyMethod("in Main");
 }

See also:
BooleanSwitch | Switch | Debug | Trace

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Property: Description (read-only)

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.Description

Summary: Gets a description of the switch.

C# Syntax:


            public string Description {get;}

Remarks

This property should indicate the function of the switch. For example, "Enables tracing for a directory watcher component."

See also:
Switch | BooleanSwitch | TraceSwitch | Debug | Trace

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Property: DisplayName (read-only)

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.DisplayName

Summary: Gets a name used to identify the switch.

C# Syntax:


            public string DisplayName {get;}

Remarks

When you create a new Switch object, the Switch.DisplayName finds initial switch settings. For more information, see the Switch.#ctor constructor and the TraceSwitch Configuration topic in the Visual Studio documentation.

See also:
Switch | BooleanSwitch | TraceSwitch | Debug | Trace

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Property: Enabled (read-write)

Summary: Specifies whether the switch is enabled or disabled.

C# Syntax:


            public bool Enabled {get; set;}

Remarks

By default, this field is set to disabled (false). To enable the switch, assign this field the value of true. To disable the switch, assign it false.

Example

The following example creates a BooleanSwitch and uses the switch to determine whether to print an error message. The switch is created at the class level. The


                Main

method passes its location to


                MyMethod

, which prints an error message and the location where the error occurred.

//Class level declaration.
 /* Create a BooleanSwitch for data. This switch is enabled by using values 
  * stored in the Registry or in environmental variables. */
 static BooleanSwitch dataSwitch = new BooleanSwitch("Data", "DataAccess module");
 
 static public void MyMethod(string location) {
    //Insert code here to handle processing.
    if(dataSwitch.Enabled)
       Console.WriteLine("Error happened at " + location);
 }
 
 public static void Main(string[] args) {
    //Run the method that writes an error message specifying the location of the error.
    MyMethod("in Main");
 }

See also:
BooleanSwitch | Switch | Debug | Trace

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Property: SwitchSetting (read-write)

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.SwitchSetting

Summary: Gets or sets the current setting for this switch.

C# Syntax:


            protected int SwitchSetting {get; set;}

See also:
Switch | BooleanSwitch | TraceSwitch | Debug | Trace

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Method: Equals(
object obj
)

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Object.Equals

C# Syntax:


            public virtual bool Equals(
   object obj
);

For more information on members inherited from System.Object click on the link above.

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Method: Finalize()

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Object.Finalize

C# Syntax:


            ~BooleanSwitch();

For more information on members inherited from System.Object click on the link above.

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Method: GetHashCode()

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Object.GetHashCode

C# Syntax:


            public virtual int GetHashCode();

For more information on members inherited from System.Object click on the link above.

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Method: GetType()

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Object.GetType

C# Syntax:


            public Type GetType();

For more information on members inherited from System.Object click on the link above.

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Method: MemberwiseClone()

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Object.MemberwiseClone

C# Syntax:


            protected object MemberwiseClone();

For more information on members inherited from System.Object click on the link above.

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Method: OnSwitchSettingChanged()

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Diagnostics.Switch.OnSwitchSettingChanged

Summary: Raises the SwitchSettingChanged event.

C# Syntax:


            protected virtual void OnSwitchSettingChanged();

Remarks

The SwitchSettingChanged event is raised any time the Switch.SwitchSetting property is changed. It is invoked the first time a switch reads its value from the configuration file and is invoked again each time the switch's value is changed.

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Method: ToString()

Inherited
See base class member description: System.Object.ToString

C# Syntax:


            public virtual string ToString();

For more information on members inherited from System.Object click on the link above.