Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) Certification Practice Test

What is the purpose of the ConditionalAttribute in C#?

1. To execute method calls conditionally

2. To display debugging information

3. To define constants

4. To suppress compiler warnings

The correct answer is: To execute method calls conditionally

The ConditionalAttribute in C# is specifically used to control the execution of method calls conditionally based on whether a specified preprocessing symbol is defined. When you apply the ConditionalAttribute to a method, it allows the compiler to include or exclude calls to that method based on the presence of a given symbol. This feature enables you to write code that can be more flexible and optimized for different build configurations, such as including or excluding debugging or logging methods during release builds. For example, if a method is marked with the Conditional attribute and a specific symbol is defined at compile-time, the calls to that method will be included in the generated code. If the symbol is not defined, those calls will be omitted entirely, making your application more efficient by removing unnecessary overhead when you do not need the extra processing. This functionality is particularly useful for logging and tracing where you may want to include detailed output during development and testing but drop it in a production environment to improve performance and reduce the output clutter.