dotnet / dotnet/dotnet-api-docs
Provide clarity around `OperationName` and `DisplayName` properties on `Activity`
- Dominant language
- C#
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Description
### Type of issue
Missing information
### Description
I was rather suprised to find that if you create an `Activity` and set both the `OperationName` (via the constructor) and `DisplayName` properties, then it is the `DisplayName` that ends up as the `name` of the span exported by the OtlpExporter, and `OperationName` is not present in the output at all.
https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/blob/ceebd456f14220a460a9257dbbd22ad7611afdd6/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/Implementation/Serializer/ProtobufOtlpTraceSerializer.cs#L232
Looking in to this further, I think this is intentional. The `DisplayName` is to all intents and purposes the actual name of the span, whilst the `OperationName` is presumably there for doing advanced filtering, enrichment, etc _inside the process_.
Could you get some clarity from the authors and add this usage info to the docs. At the moment they read more like both properties will appear, and that `OperationName` is more likely to end up as the `name`.
### Page URL
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.diagnostics.activity.displayname?view=net-9.0#system-diagnostics-activity-displayname
### Content source URL
https://github.com/dotnet/dotnet-api-docs/blob/main/xml/System.Diagnostics/Activity.xml
### Document Version Independent Id
09fad89b-f334-4588-0adf-bdefda4ae08b
### Platform Id
90a5639e-a7f2-4ed2-10b6-651df86945da
### Article author
@dotnet-bot
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