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Null values preserved in configuration

The .NET configuration binder retrieves configuration values via configuration providers and attempts to bind those values to object properties. Previously, when a configuration value was null, the binder treated it as if the value didn't exist at all, and therefore skipped the binding. In other words, it did not distinguish between null values and missing values. This behavior caused significant confusion for users who expected explicitly defined null values in their configuration to be respected and properly bound.

Additionally, the JSON configuration provider previously converted null values in the configuration to empty strings. This further contributed to confusion, as properties bound to these values would receive an empty string rather than the expected null.

This change addresses both issues. The JSON configuration provider now correctly reports null values without altering them, and the binder treats null values as valid inputs, binding them like any other value.

The update also includes improvements to support binding null values within arrays and enables binding of empty arrays.

Version introduced

.NET 10 Preview 7

Previous behavior

Previously, when a configuration value was null, the binder treated it as if the value didn't exist at all, and therefore skipped the binding. The system didn't distinguish between null values and missing values.

Additionally, the JSON configuration provider converted null values in the configuration to empty strings. This caused properties bound to these values to receive an empty string rather than the expected null.

Consider the following configuration file appsettings.json contents:

{
    "NullConfiguration": {
        "StringProperty": null,
        "IntProperty": null,
        "Array1": [null, null],
        "Array2": []
    }
}

And the corresponding binding code:

public class NullConfiguration
{
    public NullConfiguration()
    {
        // Initialize with non-default value to
        // ensure binding overrides these values.
        StringProperty = "Initial Value";
        IntProperty = 123;
    }
    public string? StringProperty { get; set; }
    public int? IntProperty { get; set; }
    public string[]? Array1 { get; set; }
    public string[]? Array2 { get; set; }
}

var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
                    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")
                    .Build().GetSection("NullConfiguration");

// Now bind the configuration.
NullConfiguration? result = configuration.Get<NullConfiguration>();

Console.WriteLine($"StringProperty: '{result!.StringProperty}', intProperty: {(result!.IntProperty.HasValue ? result!.IntProperty : "null")}");
Console.WriteLine($"Array1: {(result!.Array1 is null ?
    "null" : string.Join(", ", result!.Array1.Select(a => $"'{(a is null ? "null" : a)}'")))}");
Console.WriteLine($"Array2: {(result!.Array2 is null ?
    "null" : string.Join(", ", result!.Array2.Select(a => $"'{(a is null ? "null" : a)}'")))}");

Output:

StringProperty: '', intProperty: 123
Array1: '', ''
Array2: null

Explanation of the output:

  • StringProperty: The null value in the JSON was converted by the JSON provider into an empty string (""), overwriting the initial value.
  • IntProperty: Remained unchanged (123) because the provider converted null to an empty string, which couldn't be parsed as an int?, so the original value was retained.
  • Array1: Bound to an array containing two empty strings because each null array element was treated as an empty string.
  • Array2: Remained null since an empty array [] in the JSON was ignored by the binder.

New behavior

Starting in .NET 10, null values are now properly bound to their corresponding properties, including array elements. Even empty arrays are correctly recognized and bound as empty arrays rather than being ignored.

Running the same code sample produces the following results using the JSON configuration provider:

StringProperty: 'null', intProperty: null
Array1: 'null', 'null'
Array2:

Type of breaking change

This is a behavioral change.

Reason for change

The previous behavior was confusing and frequently led to user complaints. By addressing this issue, the configuration binding process is now more intuitive and consistent, reducing confusion and aligning the behavior with user expectations.

If you prefer the previous behavior, you can adjust your configuration accordingly:

  • When using the JSON configuration provider, replace null values with empty strings ("") to restore the original behavior, where empty strings are bound instead of null.
  • For other providers that support null values, remove the null entries from the configuration to replicate the earlier behavior, where missing values are ignored and existing property values remain unchanged.

Affected APIs