Crafting Efficient and Maintainable C# Code

Introduction

C# has become a widely adopted programming language in the software industry, and it is known for its robustness and versatility. As developers go deeper into programming using this language, It is necessary to consider a set of best practices that can enhance code readability, quality, and maintainability. In this article, I will explain some of the best practices that developers should consider while coding in C# to achieve the goals mentioned above.

I will cover a range of topics that can help you write cleaner, reliable, and scalable C# applications. This guide will provide you with valuable insights and practical tips to level up your C# skills and deliver the best software solutions. Please note that I have uploaded the source code for practices number 1 to 7. The remaining three practices, however, are possible to be included in the source code but are not included due to their complexity level.

Let's dive in and unlock the secrets to writing exceptional C# code.

1. Use meaningful and descriptive variable names

To improve code readability and understanding, you have to use meaningful variables in your code. It's a good practice to use variable names that clearly describe the content or purpose of the variable. Also, consider not using short variable names like x or y unless they are used for short-lived variables in a small scope.

Example

// Bad Variable names
int x = 5;
string s = "John Doe";
// Good Variable names
int numberOfItems = 5;
string customerName = "John Doe";

2. Follow Naming Conventions

Consistent and meaningful naming conventions are the fundamental elements of clean, readable, and maintainable code. In C#, adhering to well-established naming practices not only enhances code readability but also improves collaboration, code navigation, and the overall developer experience. By adopting a standardized approach to naming variables, methods, classes, and other code elements, you can produce readable and maintainable code.

• Use PascalCase for class, method, and property names.
• Use camelCase for local variables and method parameters.
• Use descriptive names that follow the established .NET naming guidelines.
• Maintain consistency throughout your codebase.

Example

// Namespace Naming Convention: CompanyName.ProjectName.ModuleName
namespace MyCompany.MyProject.DataAccess
{
    // Interface Naming Convention: I[InterfaceName]
    public interface ICustomerRepository
    {
        // Method Naming Convention: PascalCase
        IEnumerable<Customer> GetAllCustomers();
        Customer GetCustomerById(int customerId);
        void AddCustomer(Customer newCustomer);
        void UpdateCustomer(Customer updatedCustomer);
        void DeleteCustomer(int customerId);
    }

    // Class Naming Convention: PascalCase
    public class CustomerRepository : ICustomerRepository
    {
        // Field Naming Convention: _camelCase
        private readonly ILogger _logger;

        // Constructor Naming Convention: PascalCase
        public CustomerRepository(ILogger logger)
        {
            _logger = logger;
        }

        public IEnumerable<Customer> GetAllCustomers()
        {
            // Variable Naming Convention
            var customers = new List<Customer>();

            // Property Naming Convention
            foreach (var customer in customers)
            {
                customer.FirstName = "John";
                customer.LastName = "Doe";
                customer.EmailAddress = "[email protected]";
            }

            return customers;
        }

        public Customer GetCustomerById(int customerId)
        {
            // TODO: Code to retrieve a customer by his/her ID
            return new Customer();
        }

        public void AddCustomer(Customer newCustomer)
        {
            // TODO: Code to add a new customer to the data source
            _logger.Log($"Added new customer: {newCustomer.FirstName} {newCustomer.LastName}");
        }

        public void UpdateCustomer(Customer updatedCustomer)
        {
            // TODO: Code to update an existing customer in the data source
            _logger.Log($"Updated customer: {updatedCustomer.FirstName} {updatedCustomer.LastName}");
        }

        public void DeleteCustomer(int customerId)
        {
            // TODO: Code to delete a customer from the data source
            _logger.Log($"Deleted customer with ID: {customerId}");
        }
    }

    // Struct Naming Convention: PascalCase
    public struct Customer
    {
        // Property Naming Convention: PascalCase
        public string FirstName { get; set; }
        public string LastName { get; set; }
        public string Email { get; set; }
    }
}

For more details, please refer to C# identifier naming rules and conventions

3. Handle Null Values Properly

Null values can be found everywhere in software development, and how you handle them can make or break the stability and reliability of your C# applications. Improper null value handling can lead to very highly damaging NullReferenceException errors, which can cause your application to crash unexpectedly, leaving users frustrated and developers scrambling to fix the issue. To overcome the issue, you have to consider the following rules (Those which I consider when I code).

• Explicitly check for null values to avoid runtime exceptions.
• Use the null-conditional operator (?.) to safely access members of a nullable object.
• Utilize the null-coalescing operator (??) to provide a fallback value when a variable is null.

Example

// Checking for null
string customerName = null;
Console.WriteLine(customerName.ToUpper());
// Using null-conditional operator
Console.WriteLine(customerName?.ToUpper());
// Using null-coalescing operator
string displayName = customerName ?? "Anonymous";

4. Use The var Keyword Appropriately

The var keyword in C# is a powerful tool that can streamline your code and enhance its readability, but it must be used with care. While the use of var keyword can make your code more expressive, overusing it can lead to a lack of type transparency and make your code harder to understand.

• The var keyword is useful when the type is clearly implied by the right-hand side of the assignment.
• Avoid using var when the type is not immediately clear, as it can reduce code readability.
• Use var when the type is obvious, and use explicit types when the type is not clear.

Example

// Using var when the type is clear
var customers = new List<Customer>();
var order = CreateOrder(10, 5.99m);
// Not using var when the type is not clear
Dictionary<int, string> customerNames = new Dictionary<int, string>();

5. Write Readable and Self-Documenting Code

Readability and self-documentation are the basis of high-quality C# code. When your code is easy to understand, it becomes more maintainable, collaborative, and resilient over time. Investing in practices that enhance code readability not only benefits you as the original developer but also helps new team members to understand, facilitates code reviews, and simplifies the debugging process. In this case, the best practices that should be considered are as follows:

• Aim to write code that is easy to understand, even without additional comments.
• Use meaningful variable and method names, and organize your code into well-structured methods and classes. (Refer to best practices number 1 and 2).
• Add comments only when necessary, such as explaining complex logic or the purpose of a method.

Example

// Bad Code
int[] GetTopCustomers(List<Customer> customers, int count)
{
    var q = from c in customers
           orderby c.TotalSpent descending
           select c.Id;
    return q.Take(count).ToArray();
}
// Good Gode
int[] GetTopCustomerIds(IEnumerable<Customer> customers, int maxResultCount)
{
    return customers
        .OrderByDescending(c => c.TotalSpent)
        .Select(c => c.Id)
        .Take(maxResultCount)
        .ToArray();
}

6. Use LINQ for Data Transformations

As software developers, we often find ourselves struggling with the challenge of transforming and manipulating data to meet the ever-changing requirements of our applications. Traditional imperative coding techniques can quickly become awkward, unmanageable, and error-prone, especially when dealing with complex data structures and nested collections.

Enter LINQ, the Language Integrated Query feature in C#. LINQ provides a powerful, declarative approach to data transformations, allowing you to express your intent clearly and concisely without getting stuck in the underlying implementation details. With LINQ, you can leverage a consistent, SQL-like syntax to query, filter, sort, and transform data from a wide range of sources, including in-memory collections, databases, and XML documents. In this case, the best practices are:

• Use LINQ to perform data filtering, projection, sorting, and other operations in a concise and readable manner.
• LINQ queries can often replace complex loops and conditional logic, making your code more readable and maintainable.

Example

var customerNames = customers.Select(c => c.FullName).ToList();
var productsSoldLastYear = orders.Where(o => o.OrderDate >= new DateTime(2023, 8, 1) && o.OrderDate < new DateTime(2024, 8, 1))
                                .SelectMany(o => o.Products)
                                .Distinct()
                                .ToList();

7. Use the Statement for Resource Cleanup

Proper resource management is a critical aspect of writing robust and reliable C# applications. Whether you're working with file handling, database connections, or any other type of disposable resources, failing to clean up these resources can lead to a wide range of issues, from memory leaks to deadlocks and other concurrency problems.

The statement in C# provides a good solution to this challenge, allowing you to ensure that resources are properly disposed of, even in the face of exceptions or other control flow changes. By encapsulating resource acquisition and cleanup within a using block, you can write more exception-safe code without the need for explicit try-finally blocks or manual Dispose() calls. It also helps to prevent resource leaks and makes sure that your code adheres to the principle of deterministic resource management.

Example

using (var connection = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
{
    connection.Open();
    // Some of your database operations
}
// The connection will be automatically disposed at the end of the using block.

Or probably a file handling.

using (var fileStream = new System.IO.FileStream("CSharpBestPractices.txt", System.IO.FileMode.Create))
using (var streamWriter = new System.IO.StreamWriter(fileStream))
{
    // Writing best practices in C#
    streamWriter.WriteLine("Best Practices in C#:");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("1. Use meaningful and descriptive variable names.");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("2. Follow naming conventions for classes and methods.");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("3. Handle null values properly to avoid exceptions.");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("4. Use 'var' for type inference when the type is obvious.");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("5. Write readable and self-documenting code.");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("6. Utilize LINQ for data transformations and queries.");
    streamWriter.WriteLine("7. Always dispose of resources properly using 'using' statements.");
}

8. Accept and Embrace Dependency Injection

Dependency Injection is a fundamental design pattern that plays a crucial role in building maintainable, scalable, and testable C# applications. By separating the responsibility of creating and managing an object's dependencies from the object itself, Dependency Injection enables more modular, flexible, and testable code. This separation of concerns is a fundamental design principle that leads to higher-quality software.

Example

public class OrderService
{
    private readonly IOrderRepository _orderRepository;
    private readonly ICustomerService _customerService;
    public OrderService(IOrderRepository orderRepository, ICustomerService customerService)
    {
        _orderRepository = orderRepository;
        _customerService = customerService;
    }
    public void PlaceOrder(Order order)
    {
        // Use the injected dependencies to process the order
        _orderRepository.SaveOrder(order);
        _customerService.UpdateCustomerOrder(order.CustomerId, order);
    }
}

Read more about dependency injection here.

9. Apply the Principle of Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege is a fundamental security concept that should be at the core of your C# application design. This principle states that an entity (whether it's a user, a process, or a component) should be granted the minimum permissions necessary to perform its intended function and no more. ("Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime.")

By applying the principle of least privilege in your C# code, you can significantly reduce the attack surface of your application and improve its overall security and reliability. When each entity is restricted to only the permissions it requires, the potential for unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security vulnerabilities is widely reduced.

Example

public class BankAccount
{
    private decimal _balance;
    public decimal Deposit(decimal amount)
    {
        _balance += amount;
        return _balance;
    }
    public decimal Withdraw(decimal amount)
    {
        if (_balance >= amount)
        {
            _balance -= amount;
            return _balance;
        }
        else
        {
            throw new InvalidOperationException("Insufficient funds.");
        }
    }
    private void PerformAudit()
    {
        // Perform secret audit operations
    }
}

In the BankAccount example, the PerformAudit method is marked as private, which means it can only be accessed from within the BankAccount class. This is an application of the Principle of Least Privilege because it ensures that only the BankAccount class can perform the sensitive audit operations, and external code cannot directly access the audit process.

10. Asynchronous Programming with async and await

C# provides the async and await keywords to simplify the implementation of asynchronous programming patterns. These keywords allow you to write asynchronous code that looks and behaves more like traditional synchronous code, making it easier to reason about and maintain.

Example

public async Task<IEnumerable<Product>> GetProductsAsync()
{
    using (var client = new HttpClient())
    {
        var response = await client.GetAsync("https://api.example.com/products");
        response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
        var products = await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<IEnumerable<Product>>();
        return products;
    }
}

In this example, the GetProductsAsync method is marked as async, and it uses the await keyword to wait for the asynchronous operations (the HTTP request and the response content reading) to complete without blocking the calling thread.

Asynchronous programming in C# can provide a lot of benefits for your applications. By allowing the application to continue executing other tasks while waiting for long-running operations to complete, you can improve the overall responsiveness and user experience of your application. Additionally, asynchronous programming allows you to make more efficient use of system resources, such as CPU and memory, by not tying up threads while waiting for I/O-bound operations to finish. This enhanced resource utilization, in turn, enables your application to scale better, as it can handle more concurrent requests without running into other issues.

Consider the following tips when using await and async.

• Return Task or Task<T> from Asynchronous Methods: Asynchronous methods should return a Task or Task<T> to represent the asynchronous operation rather than using a custom asynchronous pattern.
• Avoid Blocking Calls: Avoid using synchronous methods (e.g., Task. Result, Task. Wait) within asynchronous methods, as this can lead to deadlocks and performance issues.
• Handle Exceptions Properly: Properly handle exceptions that may occur during asynchronous operations.
• Consider Task Cancellation: Implement support for task cancellation to allow clients to cancel long-running asynchronous operations when necessary.

Summary

Developing high-quality, efficient, and maintainable C# applications requires the adoption of a set of proven best practices. By adopting these essential practices mentioned above, you can increase the standard of your code and deliver solutions that last for a long time. These best practices enable you to write more responsive, scalable, and secure applications. There are plenty of other topics and best practices to be discussed as well. I will leave them for the next article.