Custom Validation Attributes: Comparing two properties in the same model

Question

Is there a way to create a custom attribute in ASP.NET Core to validate if one date property is less than other date property in a model using ValidationAttribute<

Answer 1

Here is my take on this. My version ignores properties which are null (optional). It fits very well when applied to web APIs.

[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property | AttributeTargets.Field | AttributeTargets.Parameter)]
public class ComparisonAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
    private readonly string _comparisonProperty;
    private readonly ComparisonType _comparisonType;

    public ComparisonAttribute(string comparisonProperty, ComparisonType comparisonType)
    {
        _comparisonProperty = comparisonProperty;
        _comparisonType = comparisonType;
    }

    protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext validationContext)
    {
        ErrorMessage = ErrorMessageString;

        var property = validationContext.ObjectType.GetProperty(_comparisonProperty);
        if (property == null)
            throw new ArgumentException($"Property {_comparisonProperty} not found");

        var right = property.GetValue(validationContext.ObjectInstance);
        if (value is null || right is null)
            return ValidationResult.Success;

        if (value.GetType() == typeof(IComparable))
            throw new ArgumentException($"The property {validationContext.MemberName} does not implement {typeof(IComparable).Name} interface");

        if (right.GetType() == typeof(IComparable))
            throw new ArgumentException($"The property {_comparisonProperty} does not implement {typeof(IComparable).Name} interface");

        if (!ReferenceEquals(value.GetType(), right.GetType()))
            throw new ArgumentException("The property types must be the same");

        var left = (IComparable)value;
        bool isValid;

        switch (_comparisonType)
        {
            case ComparisonType.LessThan:
                isValid = left.CompareTo((IComparable)right) < 0;
                break;
            case ComparisonType.LessThanOrEqualTo:
                isValid = left.CompareTo((IComparable)right) <= 0;
                break;
            case ComparisonType.EqualTo:
                isValid = left.CompareTo((IComparable)right) != 0;
                break;
            case ComparisonType.GreaterThan:
                isValid = left.CompareTo((IComparable)right) > 0;
                break;
            case ComparisonType.GreaterThanOrEqualTo:
                isValid = left.CompareTo((IComparable)right) >= 0;
                break;
            default:
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException();
        }

        return isValid
            ? ValidationResult.Success
            : new ValidationResult(ErrorMessage);
    }

    public enum ComparisonType
    {
        LessThan,
        LessThanOrEqualTo,
        EqualTo,
        GreaterThan,
        GreaterThanOrEqualTo
    }
}