2012.08.14.

DoFactory C# Coding Standards and Naming Conventions

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C# Coding Standards

C# Coding Standards - and Naming Conventions

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Here are our C# coding standards, naming conventions, and best practices. Use these in your own projects and/or adjust these to your own needs.

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1. Naming Conventions and Style

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use PascalCasing for class names and method names.

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p u b l i cc l a s sC l i e n t A c t i v i t y { p u b l i cv o i dC l e a r S t a t i s t i c s ( ) { / / . . . } p u b l i cv o i dC a l c u l a t e S t a t i s t i c s ( ) { / / . . . } } Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and easy to read.

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explore questions ask question tags users p u b l i cc l a s sU s e r L o g { p u b l i cv o i dA d d ( L o g E v e n tl o g E v e n t ) { i n ti t e m C o u n t=l o g E v e n t . I t e m s . C o u n t ; / /. . . } } Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and easy to read.

do

use camelCasing for method arguments and local variables.

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do not

use Hungarian notation or any other type identification in identifiers

/ /C o r r e c t i n tc o u n t e r ; s t r i n gn a m e ; / /A v o i d i n ti C o u n t e r ; s t r i n gs t r N a m e ; Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and Visual Studio IDE makes determining types very easy (via tooltips). In general you want to avoid type indicators in any identifier. Upgrade your .NET skills Click here for details -- Instant Access --

do not

use Screaming Caps for constants or readonly variables

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/ /C o r r e c t p u b l i cs t a t i cc o n s ts t r i n gS h i p p i n g T y p e=" D r o p S h i p " ;

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p u b l i cs t a t i cc o n s ts t r i n gS h i p p i n g T y p e=" D r o p S h i p " ; / /A v o i d p u b l i cs t a t i cc o n s ts t r i n gS H I P P I N G T Y P E=" D r o p S h i p " ; Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework. Caps grap too much attention.

avoid

using Abbreviations. Exceptions: abbreviations commonly used as names, such as Id, Xml, Ftp, Uri

/ /C o r r e c t U s e r G r o u pu s e r G r o u p ; A s s i g n m e n te m p l o y e e A s s i g n m e n t ; / /A v o i d U s e r G r o u pu s r G r p ; A s s i g n m e n te m p A s s i g n m e n t ; / /E x c e p t i o n s C u s t o m e r I dc u s t o m e r I d ; X m l D o c u m e n tx m l D o c u m e n t ; F t p H e l p e rf t p H e l p e r ; U r i P a r tu r i P a r t ;

Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and prevents inconsistent abbreviations.

do

use PascalCasing for abbreviations 3 characters or more (2 chars are both uppercase)

H t m l H e l p e rh t m l H e l p e r ; F t p T r a n s f e rf t p T r a n f e r ; U I C o n t r o lu i C o n t r o l ; Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework. Caps would grap visually too much attention.

do not

use Underscores in identifiers. Exception: you can prefix private static variables with an underscore.

/ /C o r r e c t p u b l i cD a t e T i m ec l i e n t A p p o i n t m e n t ; p u b l i cT i m e S p a nt i m e L e f t ; / /A v o i d p u b l i cD a t e T i m ec l i e n t _ A p p o i n t m e n t ; p u b l i cT i m e S p a nt i m e _ L e f t ; / /E x c e p t i o n p r i v a t eD a t e T i m e_ r e g i s t r a t i o n D a t e ; Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and makes code more natural to read (without 'slur'). Also avoids underline stress (inability to see underline).

do

use predefined type names instead of system type names like Int16, Single, UInt64, etc

/ /C o r r e c t s t r i n gf i r s t N a m e ; i n tl a s t I n d e x ; b o o li s S a v e d ; / /A v o i d S t r i n gf i r s t N a m e ; I n t 3 2l a s t I n d e x ; B o o l e a ni s S a v e d ;

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Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and makes code more natural to read.

do

use implicit type var for local variable declarations. Exception: primitive types (int, string, double, etc) use predefined names.

v a rs t r e a m=F i l e . C r e a t e ( p a t h ) ; v a rc u s t o m e r s=n e wD i c t i o n a r y < i n t ? ,C u s t o m e r > ( ) ; / /E x c e p t i o n s i n ti n d e x=1 0 0 ; s t r i n gt i m e S h e e t ; b o o li s C o m p l e t e d ; Why: removes clutter, particularly with complex generic types. Type is easily detected with Visual Studio tooltips.

do

use noun or noun phrases to name a class.

p u b l i cc l a s sE m p l o y e e { } p u b l i cc l a s sB u s i n e s s L o c a t i o n { } p u b l i cc l a s sD o c u m e n t C o l l e c t i o n { } Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and easy to remember.

do

prefix interfaces with the letter I . Interface names are noun (phrases) or adjectives.

p u b l i ci n t e r f a c eI S h a p e { } p u b l i ci n t e r f a c eI S h a p e C o l l e c t i o n { } p u b l i ci n t e r f a c eI G r o u p a b l e { } Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework.

do

name source files according to their main classes. Exception: file names with partial classes reflect their source or purpose, e.g. designer, generated, etc.

/ /L o c a t e di nT a s k . c s p u b l i cp a r t i a lc l a s sT a s k { / / . . . } / /L o c a t e di nT a s k . g e n e r a t e d . c s p u b l i cp a r t i a lc l a s sT a s k { / / . . . } Why: consistent with the Microsoft practices. Files are alphabetically sorted and partial classes remain adjacent.

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do

organize namespaces with a clearly defined structure

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do

organize namespaces with a clearly defined structure

/ /E x a m p l e s n a m e s p a c eC o m p a n y . P r o d u c t . M o d u l e . S u b M o d u l e n a m e s p a c eP r o d u c t . M o d u l e . C o m p o n e n t n a m e s p a c eP r o d u c t . L a y e r . M o d u l e . G r o u p Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework. Maintains good organization of your code base.

do

vertically align curly brackets.

/ /C o r r e c t c l a s sP r o g r a m { s t a t i cv o i dM a i n ( s t r i n g [ ]a r g s ) { } } Why: Microsoft has a different standard, but developers have overwhelmingly preferred vertically aligned brackets.

do

declare all member variables at the top of a class, with static variables at the very top.

/ /C o r r e c t p u b l i cc l a s sA c c o u n t { p u b l i cs t a t i cs t r i n gB a n k N a m e ; p u b l i cs t a t i cd e c i m a lR e s e r v e s ; p u b l i cs t r i n gN u m b e r{ g e t ;s e t ; } p u b l i cD a t e T i m eD a t e O p e n e d{ g e t ;s e t ; } p u b l i cD a t e T i m eD a t e C l o s e d{ g e t ;s e t ; } p u b l i cd e c i m a lB a l a n c e{ g e t ;s e t ; } / /C o n s t r u c t o r p u b l i cA c c o u n t ( ) { / /. . . } } Why: generally accepted practice that prevents the need to hunt for variable declarations.

do

use singular names for enums. Exception: bit field enums.

/ /C o r r e c t p u b l i ce n u mC o l o r { R e d , G r e e n , B l u e , Y e l l o w , M a g e n t a , C y a n } / /E x c e p t i o n [ F l a g s ] p u b l i ce n u mD o c k i n g s { N o n e=0 , T o p=1 , R i g h t=2 , B o t t o m=4 , L e f t=8 } Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and makes the code more natural to read. Plural flags because enum can hold multiple values (using bitwise 'OR').

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do not

explicitly specify a type of an enum or values of enums (except bit fields)

/ /D o n ' t p u b l i ce n u mD i r e c t i o n:l o n g { N o r t h=1 , E a s t=2 , S o u t h=3 , W e s t=4 } / /C o r r e c t p u b l i ce n u mD i r e c t i o n { N o r t h , E a s t , S o u t h , W e s t } Why: can create confusion when relying on actual types and values.

do not

suffix enum names with Enum

/ /D o n ' t p u b l i ce n u mC o i n E n u m { P e n n y , N i c k e l , D i m e , Q u a r t e r , D o l l a r } / /C o r r e c t p u b l i ce n u mC o i n { P e n n y , N i c k e l , D i m e , Q u a r t e r , D o l l a r } Why: consistent with the Microsoft's .NET Framework and consistent with prior rule of no type indicators in identifiers.

Note: Over time, we will add sections on Comments, Events, Exceptions, and more...

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