RpcException seems to put inner exception details in the exception message but leaves InnerException property as null

When making a grpc call, I am trying to provide user friendly messages when the server address is not reachable or the connection times out.

However, in both cases the rpc exception returns status code of “Unavailable”, and the HResult property has the same value. I tried to read the InnerException property to help distinguish between the two cases, but found that the property is null.

The only information I have right now is in the exception Message property, where the HttpRequestException message is appended. For example:

Status(StatusCode="Unavailable", Detail="Error starting gRPC call. HttpRequestException: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond. (192.168.132.127:64873) SocketException: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond.", DebugException="System.Net.Http.HttpRequestException: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond. (192.168.132.127:64873)
 ---> System.Net.Sockets.SocketException (10060): A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond.
   at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.AwaitableSocketAsyncEventArgs.ThrowException(SocketError error, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.AwaitableSocketAsyncEventArgs.System.Threading.Tasks.Sources.IValueTaskSource.GetResult(Int16 token)
   at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.<ConnectAsync>g__WaitForConnectWithCancellation|277_0(AwaitableSocketAsyncEventArgs saea, ValueTask connectTask, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionPool.ConnectToTcpHostAsync(String host, Int32 port, HttpRequestMessage initialRequest, Boolean async, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionPool.ConnectToTcpHostAsync(String host, Int32 port, HttpRequestMessage initialRequest, Boolean async, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionPool.ConnectAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, Boolean async, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionPool.AddHttp2ConnectionAsync(HttpRequestMessage request)
   at System.Threading.Tasks.TaskCompletionSourceWithCancellation`1.WaitWithCancellationAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionPool.GetHttp2ConnectionAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, Boolean async, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.HttpConnectionPool.SendWithVersionDetectionAndRetryAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, Boolean async, Boolean doRequestAuth, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.DiagnosticsHandler.SendAsyncCore(HttpRequestMessage request, Boolean async, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at System.Net.Http.RedirectHandler.SendAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, Boolean async, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
   at Grpc.Net.Client.Internal.GrpcCall`2.RunCall(HttpRequestMessage request, Nullable`1 timeout)")

So right now it seems I have to parse the exception message to know the exact reason of the RpcException. However, HttpRequestException.Message is localized and makes it unsuitable for parsing if not in English language.

Is it possible to assign the caught HttpRequestException into the RpcException.InnerException? Having access to the inner HttpRequestException will allow me to programmatically determine the reason of the exception. For example, in the case of a connection time out, the HttpRequestException caught has InnerException of SocketException which has a property SocketErrorCode of Timeout.

[JamesNK]

You can access the exception via RpcException.Status.DebugException.

[JamesNK]

If it’s removed then it will be marked as obsolete for a long time before then to give people a chance to react.