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August 2003

C# Coding Standard
Guidelines and Best Practices Version 1.6

Author: Juval Lowy www.idesign.net

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Table of Content
1 Naming Conventions and Style ........................................................... 3 2 Coding Practices .................................................................................. 4 3 Project Settings and Structure............................................................ 10 4 Framework Specific Guidelines ........................................................ 15 4.1 Data Access................................................................................. 15 4.2 ASP.NET and Web Services ....................................................... 15 4.3 Serialization................................................................................. 16 4.4 Multithreading............................................................................. 16 4.5 Remoting ..................................................................................... 17 4.6 Security........................................................................................ 19 4.7 Enterprise Services ...................................................................... 20 5 Resources ........................................................................................... 21 5.1 Programming .NET Components ................................................. 21 5.2 The .NET Master Class ................................................................ 21 5.2 The IDesign Code Library............................................................ 21

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1 Naming Conventions and Style

1. Use Pascal casing for type and method names
public class SomeClass { public SomeMethod(){} }

2.

Use camel casing for local variable names and method arguments
int number; void MyMethod(int someNumber) {}

3.

Name interfaces with I prefix

interface IMyInterface {..}

4.

Prefix private member variables with m_

public class SomeClass { private int m_Number; }

5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Suffix custom attribute classes with Attribute. Suffix custom exception classes with Exception. Name methods using verb-object pair, such as ShowDialog() Methods with return values should have a name describing the value returned, such as GetObjectState(). With generics, name your type parameter names as a noun followed by the word Type. This will increase readability of generic code.
//Correct: public class LinkedList<KeyType,DataType> {} //Avoid: public class LinkedList<K,T> {}

10. Maintain strict indentation. a) Use 3 spaces for indentation. b) Do not use tabs or non-standard indentation like 1, 2 or 4 spaces . 11. Indent comment at the same level of indentation as the code you are documenting. 12. All comments should pass spell checking. Misspelled comments indicate sloppy development. 13. Use descriptive variable names. a) Avoid one character variable names, such as i or t. Use index or temp instead. Do not abbreviate words (such as num instead of number).

b) Avoid using Hungarian notation for public or protected members. c)

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14. All member variables should be declared at the top, with one line separating them from the properties or methods.
public class MyClass { int m_Number; string m_Name; public void SomeMethod1(){} public void SomeMethod2(){} }

15. Declare a local variable as close as possible to its first use. 16. Use meaningful namespaces such as the product name, company name, etc. 17. Avoid fully qualified type names. Use the using statement instead. 18. Avoid putting a using statement inside a namespace. 19. Group all framework namespaces together and put custom or third party namespaces beneath.
using using using using using using System; System.Collections; System.ComponentModel; System.Data; MyCompmnay; MyControls;

20. A file name should reflect the class it contains. 21. Always place an open curly brace ({ ) in a new line. 22. With anonymous methods mimic the code layout of a regular method, aligned with the anonymous delegate declaration. a) Comply with placing an open curly brace in a new line

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2 Coding Practices
1. Always use C# predefined types rather than the aliases in the System namespace. For example:
object NOT Object string NOT String int NOT Int32

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Avoid putting multiple classes in a single file. A single file should only contribute types to a single namespaces. Avoid having multiple namespaces in the same file. Avoid files with more than 500 lines (excluding machine-generated code). Avoid methods with more than 25 lines. Lines should not exceed 80 characters. Do not manually edit any machine generated code. If modifying machine generated code, modify the format and style to match this coding standard. a) Use partial classes if possible. Avoid comments that explain the obvious.

9.

10. Code should be self explanatory. Good code with readable variable and method names should not require comments. 11. Document only operational assumptions, algorithm insights etc. 12. Avoid method-level documentation. a) Use extensive external documentation for API documentation. b) Use method-level comments only as tool tips for other developers. 13. Never hard-code a numeric value, always declare a constant instead. 14. Assert every assumption. 15. On average, every fifth line is an assertion.
using System.Diagnostics; object GetObject() {} object obj = GetObject(); Debug.Assert(obj != null);

16. Make only the most necessary types public, mark others as internal. 17. Always use zero-based arrays. 18. Avoid providing explicit values for enums. 19. Avoid specifying a type for an enum (like long). 20. Never use goto unless in a switch statement fall-through.

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21. Avoid function calls in Boolean conditional statements. Assign into local variables and check on them:
bool IsEverythingOK() {} //Avoid: if(IsEverythingOK()) {} //Instead: bool ok = IsEverythingOK(); if(ok) {}

22. Always explicitly initialize an array of reference types using a for loop.
public class MyClass {} MyClass[] array = new MyClass[100]; for(int index = 0; index < array.Length; index++) { array[index] = new MyClass(); }

23. Only catch exceptions for which you have explicit handling. 24. In a catch statement that throws an exception, always throw the original exception to maintain stack location of original error.
catch(Exception exception) { MessageBox.Show(exception.Message); throw; //Same as throw exception; }

25. Avoid error code as methods return values. 26. Do not use the new inheritance qualifier. Use override instead. 27. Minimize code in application assemblies (EXE client assemblies), use class libraries instead to contain business logic. 28. Never hardcode strings that will be presented to end users. Use resources instead. 29. Never hardcode strings that might change based on deployment such as connection strings. 30. Never use unsafe code unless when using interop. 31. Always use interfaces. a) See Chapters 1 and 3 in Programming .NET Components. 32. Avoid multiple Main() methods in a single assembly.

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33. Avoid explicit casting. Use the as operator to defensively cast to a type.
Dog dog = new GermanShepherd(); GermanShepherd shepherd = dog as GermanShepherd; if(shepherd != null) {}

34. Never assume a type supports an interface. Defensively query for that interface.
SomeType obj1; IMyInterface obj2; /* Some code to initialize obj1, then: */ obj2 = obj1 as IMyInterface; if(obj2 != null) { obj2.Method1(); } else { //Handle error in expected interface }

35. Do not provide public or protected member variables. Use properties instead. 36. Do not provide public event member variables. Use event accessors instead.
public class MySource { MyDelegate m_NumberChangedEvent; public event MyDelegate NumberChangedEvent { add { m_NumberChangedEvent += value; } remove { m_NumberChangedEvent -= value; } } }

37. Classes and interfaces should have at least 2:1 ratio of methods to properties. 38. Avoid interfaces with one member. 39. Strive to have 3-5 members per interface. 40. No more than 20 members per interface. a) 12 is probably a practical limit. 41. Avoid events as interface members. 42. Avoid abstract methods, use interfaces instead. 43. Always prefer using C# generics in data structures. 44. Expose interfaces on class hierarchies. a) See Chapter 3 in Programming .NET Components.

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45. Prefer using explicit interface implementation. a) See Chapter 3 in Programming .NET Components. 46. Always mark public and protected methods as virtual in a non sealed class. 47. When building a long string, use StringBuilder, not string. 48. Always use a curly brace scope in an if statement, even if it conditions a single statement. 49. With delegates as class members: a) Copy a delegate to a local variable before publishing to avoid concurrency race condition.

b) Always check a delegate for null before invoking it.

public class MySource { public event EventHandler MyEvent; public void FireEvent() { EventHandler temp = MyEvent; if(temp != null) { temp(this,EventArgs.Empty); } } }

50. Always have a default case in a switch statement that asserts

int number = SomeMethod(); switch(number) { case 1: Trace.WriteLine("Case 1:"); break; case 2: Trace.WriteLine("Case 2:"); break; default: Debug.Assert(false); break; }

51. Avoid providing methods on structures. a) Parameterized constructors are encouraged. b) Can overload operators. 52. Always provide a static constructor when providing static member variables. 53. Every line of code should be walked through in a white box testing manner. 54. Avoid code that relies on an assembly running from a particular location. 55. Do not use late-binding invocation when early-binding is possible.

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56. Avoid using the trinary conditional operator. 57. Do not use the this reference unless invoking another constructor from within a constructor.
//Example of proper use of this public class MyClass { public MyClass(string message) {} public MyClass() : this("hello") {} }

58. Use the EventsHelper class defined in Programming .NET Components to publish events defensively. 59. Use application logging and tracing. 60. Do not use the base word to access base class members unless you wish to resolve a conflict with a subclasses member of the same name or when invoking a base class constructor.
//Example of proper use of base public class Dog { public Dog(string name) {} virtual public void Bark(int howLong) {} } public class GermanShepherd : Dog { public GermanShepherd(string name): base(name) {} override public void Bark(int howLong) { base.Bark(howLong); } }

61. Implement Dispose() and Finalize() methods based on the template in Chapter 4 of Programming .NET Components. 62. Avoid casting to and from System.Object in code that uses generics. 63. Use the const directive only on natural constants such as the number of days of week. Avoid using const on read only variables. For that, use the readonly directive.
public class MyClass { public readonly int Number; public MyClass(int someValue) { Number = someValue; } const int DaysInWeek = 7; }

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3 Project Settings and Project Structure

1. Always build your project with warning level 4

2.

Treat warning as errors in Release build (note that this is not the default of VS.NET). a) Although it is optional, this standard recommend treating warnings as errors in debug builds as well.

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3.

Never suppress specific compiler warnings.

4.

Always explicitly state your supported runtime versions in the application configuration file. See Chapter 5 in Programming .NET Components.
<?xml version="1.0"?> <configuration> <startup> <supportedRuntime version="v2.0.0.0"/> <supportedRuntime version="v1.1.5000.0"/> </startup> </configuration>

5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Avoid explicit custom version redirection and binding to CLR assemblies. Avoid explicit preprocessor definitions ( define). Use the project settings for # defining conditional compilation constants. Do not put any logic inside AssemblyInfo.cs. Do not put any assembly attributes in any file besides AssemblyInfo.cs. Populate all fields in AssemblyInfo.cs such as company name, description, copyright notice.

10. All assembly references should use relative path. 11. Disallow cyclic references between assemblies. 12. Avoid multi-module assemblies.

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13. Always run code unchecked by default (for performance sake), but explic itly in checked mode for prone operations.

int CalcPower(int number,int power) { int result = 1; for(int count = 1;count <= power;count++) { checked { result *= number; } } return result; }

14. Avoid tampering with (Debug|Exceptions).

exception

handling

using

the

Exception

window

15. Strive to uniform version numbers on all assemblies and clients in same logical application (typically a solution). 16. Name your VS.NET application configuration file as App.Config, and include it in the project. 17. Avoid explicit code exclusion of method calls (#if#endif). Use conditional methods instead.
public class MyClass { [Conditional("MySpecialCondition")] public void MyMethod() {} }

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18. Modify VS.NET default project structure to your project standard layout, and apply uniform structure for project folders and files. 19. Link all solution-wide information to a global shared file:

20. Insert spaces for tabs. Use 3 spaces instead of tabs

a)

Tools|Options|Text Editor|C#|Tabs

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21. Release build should contain debug symbols.

22. Always sign your assemblies, including the client applications. 23. Always sign interop assemblies with the projects SNK file

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4 Framework Specific Guidelines

4.1 Data Access
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Always use type-safe data sets. Avoid raw ADO.NET. Always use transactions when accessing a database. Always use transaction isolation level set to Serializable. a) Requires management decision to use anything else. Do not use the Server Explorer to drop connections on windows forms, ASP.NET forms or web services. Doing so couples the presentation tier to the data tier. Avoid SQL Server authentication. a) Use Windows authentication instead. Run components accessing SQL Server under separate identity from that of the calling client. Always warp your stored procedures in a high level, type safe class. Only that class invokes the stored procedures. Avoid putting any logic inside a stored procedure. a) If there is an IF inside a stored procedure, you are doing something wrong.

4.2 ASP.NET and Web Services

1. 2. 3. Avoid putting code in ASPX files of ASP.NET. All code should be in the codebehind class. Code in code behind class of ASP.NET should call other components rather than contain direct busines s logic. In both ASP.NET pages and web services, w a session variables in a local rap property. Only that property is allowed to access the session variable, and the rest of the code uses the property, not the session variable. Avoid setting to True the Auto-Postback property of server controls in ASP.NET. In transactional pages or web services, always store session in SQL server. Turn on Smart Navigation for ASP.NET pages. Strive to provide interfaces for web services a) 8. 9. See Appendix A of Programming .NET Comp onents. Always provide namespace and service description for web services. Always provide a description for web methods.

4. 5. 6. 7.

10. When adding a web service reference, provide meaningful name for the location. 11. Always modify client-side web service wrapper class to support cookies. a) You have no way of knowing whether the service uses Session state or not.

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4.3 Serialization
1. 2. 3. Always mark non-sealed classes as Serializable. Always mark un-serializable member variables as non serializable. Always mark delegates on a serialized class as non-serializable.
[Serializable] public class MyClass { [field:NonSerialized] public event MyDelegate Delegate; }

4.4 Multithreading
1. Use Synchronization Domains. See Chapter 8 in Programming .NET Components. a) 2. 3. 4. Avoid manual synchronization, because they often lead to deadlocks and race conditions.

Never call outside your synchronization domain. Manage asynchronous call completion on a callback method. a) a) Do not wait, poll, or block for completion. Name is traces in the debugger Threads window, making a debug session more productive. Always name your threads.

Thread currentThread = Thread.CurrentThread; string threadName = "Main UI Thread"; currentThread.Name = threadName;

5. 6.

Do not call Suspend() or Resume() on a thread. Do not call Thread.Sleep(). a) Thread.Sleep(0) is acceptable optimization technique to force a context switch.

b) Thread.Sleep() is acceptable in testing or simulation code. 7. 8. Do not call Thread.SpinWait(). Do not call Thread.Abort() to terminate threads. a) 9. Use a synchronization object instead to signal the thread to terminate. See Chapter 8 in Programming .NET Components. Can set thread priority based on task semantic, such as bellow normal for a screen saver. Use Thread.IsAlive() to determine whether the thread is dead. Use a watchdog or other monitoring entity to deterministically kill threads.

Avoid explicitly setting thread priority to control execution. a)

10. Do not read the value of the thread state property. a) a) 11. Do not rely on setting the thread type to background thread for application shutdown. 12. Do not use thread local storage unless thread affinity is guaranteed.

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13. Never call Thread.Join() without checking that you are not joining your own thread.
void WaitForThreadToDie(Thread thread) { Debug.Assert(Thread.CurrentThread.GetHashCode() != tread.GetHashCode()); thread.Join(); }

14. Always use the lock() statement rather than explicit Monitor manipulation. 15. Always encapsulate the lock() statement inside the object it protects.
public class MyClass { public void DoSomething() { lock(this) { //Do Something } } }

a)

Can use synchronized methods instead of writing the lock() statement yourself.

16. Avoid fragmented locking (see Chapter 8 of Programming .NET Components). 17. Avoid using a Monitor to wait or pulse objects. Use manual or auto-reset events instead. 18. Always release a Mutex inside a finally statement to handle exceptions. 19. Do not use volatile variables. Lock your object or fields instead to guarantee deterministic and thread-safe access.

4.5 Remoting
1. 2. 3. 4. Prefer administrative configuration to programmatic configuration. Always implement IDisposable on a single call objects. Always prefer TCP channel and binary format when using remoting. a) Unless a firewall is present. Always provide a null lease for a singleton object.
public class MySingleton : MarshalByRefObject { public override object InitializeLifetimeService() { return null; } }

5.

always provide a sponsor for a client activated object. Sponsor should return initial lease timed. a) See Chapter 10 of Programming .NET Components.

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6. 7. 8. 9.

Always unregister a sponsor on client application shutdown. Always put remote objects in class libraries. Avoid using SoapSuds. Avoid hosting in IIS.

10. Avoid using uni-directional channels. 11. Always load a remoting configuration file in Main() even if the file is empty, and the application does not use remoting. a) Allow the option of remoting some types later on post deployment, and changing the application topology.

static void Main() { RemotingConfiguration.Configure("MyApp.exe.config"); /* Rest of Main() */ }

12. Avoid using Activator.GetObject() and Activator.CreateiInstance() for remote objects activation. Use new instead. 13. Always register port 0 on the client side, to allow callbacks. 14. Always elevate type filtering to full on both client and host to allow callbacks.
Host Config file: <channels> <channel ref="tcp" port="8005"> <serverProviders> <formatter ref="soap" typeFilterLevel="Full"/> <formatter ref="binary" typeFilterLevel="Full"/> </serverProviders> </channel> <channel ref="http" port="8006"> <serverProviders> <formatter ref="soap" typeFilterLevel="Full"/> <formatter ref="binary" typeFilterLevel="Full"/> </serverProviders> </channel> </channels> Client Config file: <channels> <channel ref="tcp" port="0"> <serverProviders> <formatter ref="soap" typeFilterLevel="Full"/> <formatter ref="binary" typeFilterLevel="Full"/> </serverProviders> </channel> </channels>

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4.6 Security
1. Always demand your own strong name on assemblies and components that are private to the application, but are public (so that only you can use them).
public class PublicKeys { public const string MyCompany = "1234567894800000940000000602000000240000"+ "52534131000400000100010007D1FA57C4AED9F0"+ "A32E84AA0FAEFD0DE9E8FD6AEC8F87FB03766C83"+ "4C99921EB23BE79AD9D5DCC1DD9AD23613210290"+ "0B723CF980957FC4E177108FC607774F29E8320E"+ "92EA05ECE4E821C0A5EFE8F1645C4C0C93C1AB99"+ "285D622CAA652C1DFAD63D745D6F2DE5F17E5EAF"+ "0FC4963D261C8A12436518206DC093344D5AD293"; } [StrongNameIdentityPermission(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, PublicKey = PublicKeys.MyCompany)] public class MyClass {}

2. 3. 4.

Apply encryption and security protection on application configuration files. Assert unmanaged code permission, and demand appropriate permission instead. On server machines deploy code-access security policy that grants only Microsoft, ECMA and self (identified by strong name) full trust. a) All other code is implicitly granted nothing. On client machine, deploy a security policy which grants client application only the permissions to call bac k the server and to potentially display user interface. a) Client application identified by strong name. Always refuse at the assembly level all permissions not required to perform task at hand. a) The counter a luring attack.
[assembly:UIPermission(SecurityAction.RequestRefuse, Window=UIPermissionWindow.AllWindows)]

5.

6.

7.

Always set the principal policy in every Main() method to Windows

public class MyClass { static void Main() { AppDomain currentDomain = Thread.GetDomain(); currentDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.WindowsPrincipal); } //other methods }

8.

Never assert a permission without demanding a different permission in its place. See Chapter 12 in Programming .NET Components.

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4.7 Enterprise Services

1. Do not catch exceptions in a transactional method. Use the AutoComplete attribute. a) 2. See COM and .NET Component Services. and the like. Use the Do not call SetComplete(), SetAbort(), AutoComplete attribute.
[Transaction] public class MyComponent : ServicedComponent { [AutoComplete] public void MyMethod(long objectIdentifier) { GetState(objectIdentifier); DoWork(); SaveState(objectIdentifier); } }

3.

Always override CanBePooled and return true (unless you have a good reason not to return to pool)
public class MyComponent :ServicedComponent { protected override bool CanBePooled() { return true; } }

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Always call Dispose() explicitly on a pooled objects unless the component is configured to use JITA as well. Set authentication level to privacy on all applications. Use Enterprise Services whenever more than one object or more than one database is involved in a single transaction. Set impersonation level on client assemblies to Identity. Always set ComponentAccessControl attribute on serviced components to true a) The default is True Always add to the Marshaler role the Everyone user
[assembly: SecurityRole("Marshaler",SetEveryoneAccess = true)]

10. Apply SecureMethod attribute to all classes requiring authentication.

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5 Resources
5.1 Programming .NET Components
By Juval Lowy, O'Reilly 2003 ISBN: 0596003471

5.2 The .NET Master Class

Authored by Juval Lowy, this world acclaimed intense class covers everything, from .NET Essentials to the application frameworks and system programming. More info at www.idesign.net

5.2 The IDesign Code Library

The IDesign code library contains more than a hundred demos, tools and utilities developed by IDesign associates for over three years of applying .NET and educating the industry about it. The library covers C# programming, essential .NET concepts, .NET application frameworks, system issues and Enterprise Services. The utilities are a productivity-enhancing tool, or they compensate for some oversight in the original design of .NET or its application frameworks. The demos are used during the .NET Master Class to demystify technical points, as lab exe rcises or to answer questions. More at www.idesign.net

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