SA1616: ElementReturnValueDocumentationMustHaveText

StyleCop

TypeName

ElementReturnValueDocumentationMustHaveText

CheckId

SA1616

Category

Documentation Rules

Cause

The <returns> tag within a C# element’s documentation header is empty.

Rule Description

C# syntax provides a mechanism for inserting documentation for classes and elements directly into the code, through the use of Xml documentation headers. For an introduction to these headers and a description of the header syntax, see the following article: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc302121.aspx.

A violation of this rule occurs if an element contains an empty <returns> tag.

How to Fix Violations

To fix a violation of this rule, fill-in documentation text within the <returns> tag describing the value returned from the element.

The following example shows a method with a valid documentation header:

    /// <summary>

    /// Joins a first name and a last name together into a single string.

    /// </summary>

    /// <param name="firstName">The first name to join.</param>

    /// <param name="lastName">The last name to join.</param>

    /// <returns>The joined names.</returns>

    public string JoinNames(string firstName, string lastName)

    {

        return firstName + " " + lastName;

    }