Frequently asked questions about VoloGen.

General

What .NET versions are supported?

VoloGen attribute packages target netstandard2.0, making them compatible with any .NET version. The generators require a Roslyn version that supports incremental source generators, which means .NET 6+ is recommended for the best experience.

Does VoloGen add any runtime dependency?

No. The generated code is plain C# with no external dependencies. The generator and attribute packages are compile-time only – they are not included in your application’s output.

Can I use multiple generators on the same type?

Yes. You can apply [AutoEquality] and [AutoComparable] to the same type. The generators coordinate automatically – [AutoComparable] takes ownership of ==/!= operators to avoid conflicts.

Does it work with record types?

Yes. VoloGen works with struct, class, record struct, and record class types. The only requirement is that the type is partial.

Code Generation

What if I already have a method the generator would emit?

The generator uses a skip-if-exists pattern. Before emitting any method, it checks whether an identical overload (same name, parameter types, ref kinds, and return type) already exists. If it does, the generator silently skips it.

Why are generated methods marked AggressiveInlining?

Thin wrapper overloads – methods that just adapt parameters and delegate – are marked with [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)] to hint the JIT compiler. This eliminates call overhead for trivial delegations.

Core methods and heavier logic (e.g., Parse with exception throwing) are not inlined.

Can I see the generated code?

Yes! Add this to your .csproj to emit the generated source files to disk:

<PropertyGroup>
  <EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles>true</EmitCompilerGeneratedFiles>
  <CompilerGeneratedFilesOutputPath>$(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)\GeneratedFiles</CompilerGeneratedFilesOutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>

The generated files will appear in obj/GeneratedFiles/.

Diagnostics

Why am I getting VG0002 (MustBePartial)?

You need to add the partial modifier to your type declaration:

- [AutoEquality]
- public struct UserId { ... }
+ [AutoEquality]
+ public partial struct UserId { ... }

Why am I getting VG0008 (MissingToStringOrMaxBufferSize)?

The [AutoFormattable] generator needs a way to produce ToString. Provide either:

  • A const int MaxBufferSize field (the generator will use stackalloc/ArrayPool)
  • A string ToString(string?, IFormatProvider?) method (the generator will use it directly)

Can I suppress diagnostics?

VoloGen diagnostics are errors by default for safety. You can suppress them with #pragma warning disable VGxxxx if needed, but this is not recommended – the diagnostics exist because the generated code would not work correctly without the required methods.

Packaging

Why are there two packages per generator?

The architecture splits each generator into:

  1. Attribute package (e.g., VoloGen.Parsable) – contains the marker attribute
  2. Generator package (e.g., VoloGen.Parsable.Generator) – contains the source generator

This ensures the attribute package has zero dependencies and maximum compatibility, while the generator package is loaded only at compile time.

Are the assemblies strong-name signed?

Yes. All VoloGen assemblies are signed with VoloGen.snk (RSA-2048). This is required for consuming projects that are also strong-name signed.

What is the minimum Roslyn version?

VoloGen targets netstandard2.0 for the generator packages, which is compatible with the Roslyn version included in the .NET 6 SDK and later.