C# Possible to have a generic return type?
- by JL
Here is a typical function that returns either true/false;
private static bool hasValue()
{
return true;
}
Now on an error, I would like to return my own custom error object with definition:
public class Failure
{
public string failureDateTime { get; set; }
public string failureReason { get; set; }
}
I would have expected to be able to throw this custom object for example...
private static bool hasValue()
{
throw new Failure();
}
This is not possible, and I don't want to derive Failure from System.IO.Exception because of the inability to serialize an exception in C#.
What is the best practice / or ideal solution to this problem. Should I just work with private static object? Or is there a cleaner way to return a custom object or bypass the typical return type on an error (not using System.IO.Exception)?
Not entirely wild about object either, because then I need to cast the result and validate it by more boolean logic.
