Incorrect docs for ServerCertificate

[saurabh500]

Describe the bug

The documentation at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.data.sqlclient.sqlconnectionstringbuilder.servercertificate?view=sqlclient-dotnet-core-6.1 about ServerCertificate property of SqlConnectionStringBuilder is incorrect.

The fix needs to be made in https://github.com/dotnet/SqlClient/blame/f50d21ce320194ff94c7e396f479482fca65a4cc/doc/snippets/Microsoft.Data.SqlClient/SqlConnectionStringBuilder.xml#L108

The following lines should be deleted. The ServerCertificate property is applicable to encryption regardless of Integrated Security/ServerSPN etc

  <format type="text/markdown">
          <![CDATA[  
This property corresponds to the "ServerSPN" and "Server SPN" keys within the connection string.  
> [!NOTE]
> This property only applies when using Integrated Security mode, otherwise it is ignored.
]]>

[copilot-swe-agent]

The agent encountered an error and was unable to start working on this issue: Please try again later, or contact support if the problem persists. (Request id: E52C:1E4AFC:1B5969E:1B681D8:6A289CCE)

[copilot-swe-agent]

The agent encountered an error and was unable to start working on this issue: Please try again later, or contact support if the problem persists. (Request id: E52C:1E4AFC:1B921A0:1BA0DED:6A289D43)

[github-actions]

🔍 Triage Summary

Check	Result
Issue type	Bug
Environment	N/A — documentation-only issue, no runtime environment required
Area	Area\Documentation
Duplicates	None found
Regression	Not indicated — likely copy-paste error from ServerSPN when ServerCertificate was introduced in v5.1

Analysis

The ServerCertificate remarks in doc/snippets/Microsoft.Data.SqlClient/SqlConnectionStringBuilder.xml (lines 1305–1314) contain two incorrect statements that were apparently copied from the ServerSPN property: (1) it says the property corresponds to the "ServerSPN" and "Server SPN" connection string keys, when it should reference "Server Certificate" / "ServerCertificate"; and (2) it incorrectly states the property only applies in Integrated Security mode. In reality, ServerCertificate is used to specify a local certificate file for server TLS/SSL validation and applies to any encrypted connection regardless of authentication mode. Severity: P3 (documentation inaccuracy with no runtime impact).

Next Steps

• Assign to Copilot coding agent to apply the following targeted fix in doc/snippets/Microsoft.Data.SqlClient/SqlConnectionStringBuilder.xml:
  1. Replace This property corresponds to the "ServerSPN" and "Server SPN" keys within the connection string. with This property corresponds to the "Server Certificate" and "ServerCertificate" keys within the connection string.
  2. Remove the > [!NOTE] block: > This property only applies when using Integrated Security mode, otherwise it is ignored.
• Optionally add a clarifying note that the property is only applicable when Encrypt is Mandatory or Strict (i.e., when TLS certificate validation is active).

Note: This triage summary is auto-generated by an AI agent. The analysis and suggestions above have not been verified by a human maintainer. Please treat as preliminary guidance only.

Generated by SqlClient Issue Auto-Triage for issue #4351 · ● 2.3M · ◷

[copilot-swe-agent]

The agent encountered an error and was unable to start working on this issue: Please try again later, or contact support if the problem persists. (Request id: FDAF:21F95F:2029D9:283ABD:6A28A82D)