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Some APIs throw ArgumentNullException (.NET 7)

  • Article

Some APIs now validate input parameters and throw an ArgumentNullException where previously they threw a NullReferenceException, if invoked with null input arguments.

Previous behavior

In previous .NET versions, the affected APIs throw a NullReferenceException if invoked with an argument that's null.

New behavior

Starting in .NET 7, the affected APIs throw an ArgumentNullException if invoked with an argument that's null.

Change category

This change affects binary compatibility.

Reason for change

Throwing ArgumentNullException conforms to .NET Runtime behavior. It provides a better debug experience by clearly communicating which argument caused the exception.

Version introduced

.NET 7

  • Review and, if necessary, update your code to prevent passing null input arguments to the affected APIs.
  • If your code handles NullReferenceException, replace or add an additional handler for ArgumentNullException.

Affected APIs

The following table lists the affected APIs and specific parameters.

Method/property Parameter name Change version
ComboBox.ChildAccessibleObject(ComboBox, IntPtr) owner Preview 1
ControlPaint.CreateHBitmap16Bit(Bitmap, Color) bitmap Preview 1
ControlPaint.CreateHBitmapColorMask(Bitmap, IntPtr) bitmap Preview 1
DataGridViewEditingControlShowingEventArgs(Control, DataGridViewCellStyle) control or cellStyle Preview 1
ToolStripArrowRenderEventArgs(Graphics, ToolStripItem, Rectangle, Color, ArrowDirection) g Preview 1
ToolStripContentPanelRenderEventArgs(Graphics, ToolStripContentPanel) g or contentPanel Preview 1
ToolStripItemRenderEventArgs(Graphics, ToolStripItem) g or item Preview 1
ToolStripPanelRenderEventArgs(Graphics, ToolStripPanel) g or toolStripPanel Preview 1
ListView.CheckedIndexCollection(ListView) owner Preview 5