Are there any suggestions for developing a C# codi

Question

I'm a recent AI graduate (circa 2 years) working for a modest operation. It has fallen to me (primarily as I'm the first 'adopter' in the department) to create a basic (read useful?) C# coding standards document.

I think I should explain that I'm probably the most junior software engineer going, but I'm looking forward to this task as hopefully I might actually be able to produce something half usable. I've done a pretty extensive search of the Internet and read articles on what a coding standards document should / should not contain. This seems like a good as place as any to ask for some suggestions.

I realise that I am potentially opening a door to a whole world of disagreement about 'the best way to do things'. I both understand and respect the undeniable fact that each programmer has a preferred method of solving each individual task, as a result I'm not looking to write anything so draconianly proscriptive as to stifle personal flair but to try and get a general methodology and agreed standards (e.g. naming conventions) to help make individuals code more readable.

So here goes .... any suggestions? Any at all?

Answer 1

In the code I write I usually follow .NET Framework Design Guidelines for publicly exposed APIs and Mono Coding Guidelines for private member casing and indentation. Mono is an open source implementation of .NET, and I think those guys know their business.

I hate how Microsoft code wastes space:

try
{
    if (condition)
    {
        Something(new delegate
        {
            SomeCall(a, b);
        });
    }
    else
    {
        SomethingElse();
        Foobar(foo, bar);
    }
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Okay, you got me");
}

What you might find strange in Mono guidelines, is that they use 8-space tabs. However, after some practice, I found that it actually helps me writing less tangled code by enforcing a kind of indentation limit.

I also love how they put a space before opening parenthesis.

try {
        if (condition) {
                Something (new delegate {
                        SomeCall (a, b);
                });
        } else {
                SomethingElse ();
                Foobar (foo, bar);
        }
} catch (Exception ex) {
        Console.WriteLine ("Okay, you got me");
}

But please, don't enforce anything like that if your coworkers dislike it (unless you are willing to contribute to Mono ;-)

Answer 2

I've used Juval's before and that's through if not overkill, but I'm lazy and now just conform to the will of Resharper.

Answer 3

I found the following documentation very helpful and concise. It comes from the idesign.net site and it is authored by Juval Lowy

C# Coding Standard

NB: the above link is now dead. To get the .zip file you need to give them your email address (but they won't use it for marketing... honestly) Try here

Answer 4

I've just started at a place where the coding standards mandate the use of m_ for member variables, p_ for parameters and prefixes for types, such as 'str' for strings. So, you might have something like this in the body of a method:

m_strName = p_strName;

Horrible. Really horrible.

Answer 5

Our entire coding standard reads roughly, "Use StyleCop."

Answer 6

I have to suggest the dotnetspider.com document.
It is a great and detailed document that is useful anywhere.