Stack Overflow on Property Setter

Question

I have an object in C# which has current property.

public DateTime startDate
{
    get 
    {
        string[] ymd = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()[2].Split('.');
        return new DateTime(Int32.Parse(ymd[2]), Int32.Parse(ymd[1]), Int32.Parse(ymd[0])); 
    }
    set { startDate = value; }
}

But when I try to use the function defined as this:

public String Calculate(){
    if (startDate > endDate)
        return "not calculable since the end date can not be before than the start date.";

    while (startDate <= endDate)
    {
        if (startDate.DayOfWeek.ToString()[0] != 'S')
            count++;
        startDate = startDate.AddDays(1);
    }

    return "not implemented yet";

Stack Overflow occurs :) Can you help me fix this?

Note that this has nothing to do with `DateTime`. It's a simple problem with your setter which could have been avoided by using a better naming convention. — John Saunders, Sep 02 '14 at 19:34

Eldar Dordzhiev · Answer 1 · 2016-03-23T15:30:06.473

7

There is a mistake in your setter. You're trying to assign to the same property, that's the cause of the stack overflow, as every assignment to a property is just calling it's setter.

set { startDate = value; }

edited Mar 23 '16 at 15:30

answered Sep 02 '14 at 19:28

Eldar Dordzhiev

5,105
2
22
26

Exactly. The `set` accessor calls itself _ad infinitum_. – Jeppe Stig Nielsen Sep 02 '14 at 19:30
create a class variable for start date and substitute that instead of same name as property – GodsCrimeScene Sep 02 '14 at 19:31

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 02 '14 at 19:31

The property is setting itself here, causing an infinite loop:

set { startDate = value; }

You would need a backing field to keep the value of the property, and initialise it if it hasn't been set:

private DateTime? _startDate;

public DateTime startDate {
  get {
    if (!_startDate.HasValue) {
      string[] ymd = Environment.GetCommandLineArgs()[2].Split('.');
      _startDate = new DateTime(Int32.Parse(ymd[2]), Int32.Parse(ymd[1]), Int32.Parse(ymd[0]));
    }
    return _startDate.Value;
  }
  set { _startDate = value; }
}

Stack Overflow on Property Setter

2 Answers2