C# 3.
0 Coding Guidelines Quick Reference
Design & Usage
Goals
Prevent common mistakes and pitfalls
Prevent language constructs that can be
misinterpreted
Promote object oriented development
Ensure that all source code has the same look-and-
feel
Maintainability
Improve readability and reviewability
Design
Don’t hide inherited members with the new keyword
(AV1010)
It should be possible to treat a derived object as if it
were a base class object (AV1010)
Do allow properties to be set in any order (AV1015)
Don’t create a constructor that does not yield a fully
initialized object (AV1020)
Don’t return an array (AV1025)
String and array properties should never return a null
reference (AV1027)
Provide a rich and meaningful exception message text
(AV1040)
Don’t swallow errors by catching non-specific exceptions
(AV1042)
Prefer throwing existing exceptions (AV1043)
Do always check an event handler delegate for null
(AV1051)
Do use a protected virtual method to raise each event
(AV1052)
Do only implement casts that operate on the complete
object (AV1060)
Avoid casting to and from System.Object in code that
uses generics (AV1062)
March 2009
Dennis Doomen
Don’t add extension methods to the same namespace
as the extended class (AV1070)
Do evaluate the result of a LINQ expression before
returning it (AV1076)
Avoid using names that can be mistaken with other
names (AV1501)
Do name a source file to the class it contains (AV1506)
Do limit the contents of a source code file to one class
(AV1507)
Don’t use "magic numbers" (AV1515)
Do use var only when the type is very obvious
(AV1520)
Do initialize variables at the point of declaration, if
possible (AV1521)
Favor Object and Collection Initializers over separate
statements (AV1523)
Do use an enumeration instead of a list of strings if the
list of values is finite (AV1526)
Do use a block with all flow control keywords, even if it is
empty (AV1535)
Do code every if-else if statement with an else-part
(AV1537)
Avoid multiple return statements (AV1540)
Prefer conditional statements instead of simple if-else
constructs (AV1546)
Do explicitly define the scope of a type or member
(AV1550)
Do implement the most complete overload of a method
or constructor and call it from the other overloaded
methods or constructors (AV1551)
Avoid methods with more than 5 arguments (AV1561)
Do always check the result of an as operation (AV1570)
Usage
Do use C# types instead of the types from the System
namespace (AV2201)
Don’t hardcode strings that are presented to end-users
(AV2206)
Do build with the highest warning level (AV2210)
Avoid LINQ for simple expressions (AV2220)
Do use Lambda expressions instead of delegates
(AV2221)
Important Note
These coding guidelines are an extension to Visual
Studio 2008's Code Analysis functionalty, so make sure
you enable that for all you project. Check the full
document for more details.
Feedback
This document has been compiled using many
contributions from (ex) colleagues, sources from the
Internet, and many years of developing in C#. If you
have questions, comments or suggestions, please let
us know by sending me an email at
dennis.doomen@avivasolutions.nl. We will try to revise
and republish this document with new insights,
experiences and remarks on a regular basis.
www.avivasolutions.nl
blog.avivasolutions.nl
C# 3.0 Coding Guidelines Quick Reference
Naming & Layout

Naming Class member order

Documentation
Do use proper US English (AV1701)
Don’t prefix member fields (AV1705)
Do name an identifier according its meaning and not its
type (AV1707)
Do name classes, interfaces and value types with
nouns, noun phrases or adjective phrases (AV1708)
Don’t repeat the name of a class or enumeration in its
members (AV1710)
Do name methods using verb-object pair (AV1720)
Do use a verb or verb phrase to name an event
(AV1735) Layout
Do prefix an event handler with On (AV1738)
Group extension methods in a class suffixed with
Extensions (AV1745)
1. Private fields
2. Public read-only static fields
Do use proper US English (AV1701) 3. Constructors and the Finalizer
Do use XML tags for documenting types and members 4. Events
(AV2305) 5. Properties
6. Other members grouped in a functional manner.
Do write XML documentation with the caller in mind a. Control event handlers
(AV2306) b. Page lifecycle handlers
Do write MSDN-style documentation (AV2307) c. Interface implementations
7. Private properties
Do write comments that explain the purpose (the why) of
a code block (AV2316) Other private methods in calling order in-line with public
methods.
Do write comments that explain the purpose of a code Member modifier order
public, protected, internal, private,
block (AV2316) partial, new, abstract, virtual,
Do order and group namespaces by company preceded override, sealed, static, readonly,
by Microsoft namespacves (AV2402) extern, volatile, const

Be reluctant with #regions

Pascal Casing
Don’t exceed a line length of 130 characters (AV2411) Empty lines
Class, Struct AppDomain
Interface IBusinessService Do insert space after if, switch, while, for, Between members
Enumeration type ErrorLevel foreach, catch, lock and using (AV2412) After the closing parentheses
Enumeratiion values FatalError Between unrelated code blocks
Do put parentheses on a new line (AV2413) Around the #region keyword
Event ValueChange
Protected field MainPanel Between the using statements of the same company.
Const field MaximumItems
Read-only static field RedValue
Regions
Method ToString
Private fields
Namespace System.Drawing
Control event handlers
Property BackColor
Page lifecycle handlers
Generic Type Parameter TEntity
Nested classes
Camel Casing Helper classes (in the same file)
Private field listItem Interface implementations (only if the class contains
other members)
Local variable listOfValues
Parameter typeName

March 2009 www.avivasolutions.nl

Dennis Doomen blog.avivasolutions.nl