HandyOrg/HandyControl · error · ArgumentNullException

The parameter can not be either null or empty.

Error message

The parameter can not be either null or empty.

What it means

Validation helper guard: Verify.IsNeitherNullNullOrEmpty throws when the string argument it is asked to check is null, empty, or whitespace-only. It fires at argument-check time in callers (typically Getters/Setters in the Standard shell library) — the input at fault is the parameter passed to the guarded API, commonly a device/context name or resource string that was never supplied.

Solutions

1. Supply a non-empty string for the parameter
2. Initialize the value before the call (default or from valid config)
3. Add caller-side validation with a clearer error message
4. Catch ArgumentNullException/ArgumentException to surface which parameter was invalid

Example fix

// before
Verify.IsNeitherNullNorEmpty(config.Name, "Name"); // throws when Name is ""
// after
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(config.Name)) config.Name = "Default";
Verify.IsNeitherNullNorEmpty(config.Name, "Name");

if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value))
    throw new ArgumentException($"'{name}' must be a non-empty string.", name);

static bool IsNonEmptyString(string s) => !string.IsNullOrEmpty(s);

try { Verify.IsNeitherNullNorEmpty(value, name); }
catch (ArgumentNullException ex) { HandleMissing(name, ex); }
catch (ArgumentException ex) { HandleEmpty(name, ex); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Verify.IsNeitherNullNorEmpty(null, "name") or with "" as the value — from any API whose first act is validating a required string parameter via this helper.

Common situations: Passing unset configuration strings, empty command-line/registry values, or unassigned properties into shell/jumplist APIs.

Understand the failure class

Background: "must not be empty", "cannot be empty" — required-field validation errors across open-source libraries — this error's family across 41 libraries.

Related errors

• The parameter can not be either null or empty or consist…
• owner
• DoubleKeyFrameCollection
• The parameter must not be the default value.
• The parameter must be null.

AI-assisted analysis of HandyOrg/HandyControl@2c0875ebd6 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3be6fdd8b4e36d25. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Shared/Microsoft.Windows.Shell/Standard/Verify.cs:29

{
    [SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Performance", "CA1811:AvoidUncalledPrivateCode")]
    [DebuggerStepThrough]
    public static void IsApartmentState(ApartmentState requiredState, string message)
    {
        if (Thread.CurrentThread.GetApartmentState() != requiredState)
        {
            throw new InvalidOperationException(message);
        }
    }

    [DebuggerStepThrough]
    [SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Performance", "CA1820:TestForEmptyStringsUsingStringLength")]
    [SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Performance", "CA1811:AvoidUncalledPrivateCode")]
    public static void IsNeitherNullNorEmpty(string value, string name)
    {
        if (value == null)
        {
            throw new ArgumentNullException(name, "The parameter can not be either null or empty.");
        }
        if ("" == value)
        {
            throw new ArgumentException("The parameter can not be either null or empty.", name);
        }
    }

    [SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Performance", "CA1811:AvoidUncalledPrivateCode")]
    [SuppressMessage("Microsoft.Performance", "CA1820:TestForEmptyStringsUsingStringLength")]
    [DebuggerStepThrough]
    public static void IsNeitherNullNorWhitespace(string value, string name)
    {
        if (value == null)
        {
            throw new ArgumentNullException(name, "The parameter can not be either null or empty or consist only of white space characters.");
        }
        if ("" == value.Trim())
        {

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