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SA1616: ElementReturnValueDocumentationMustHaveText

Glossary Item Box

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;

}