My C# Code Conventions and Style Guide

I like to follow "Modern Microsoft" conventions and styles for C# and dotnet; these are the conventions typically found in modern Microsoft GitHub repos like .NET, EF, etc. They are generally also the defaults within Visual Studio.

I go for standard Microsoft conventions as they would be most popular in the community and would generally be more familiar to new developers joining the team.

1. Boolean Evaluations

😀 DO prefer expression operator short-hand syntax.

var success = true;

if (success)
{
    // do if true
}

if (!success)
{
    // do if not true
}

Why: Consistent with Microsoft’s .NET Framework and makes code simpler, more concise, and easier to read.

😡 DO NOT use long form operator syntax:

var success = true;

if (success == true)
{
    // do if true
}

if (success == false)
{
    // do if not true
}

2. Abbreviation Casing

😀 DO prefer PascalCase for a abbreviations of any length found within member names:

public DateTime CreatedUtc { get; set; }
public string SqlConnection { get; set; }

😡 DO NOT UPPERCASE abbreviations:

public DateTime CreatedUTC { get; set; }
public string SQLConnection { get; set; }

Why: Consistent with Microsoft’s .NET Framework and easier to read.

3. Conditional and Loop Brackets

😀 DO always include brackets around single-line conditional and loop statements:

if (true)
{
    DoSomething():
}

😡 DO NOT omit brackets:

if (true)
    DoSomething();

Why: It makes the scope of the statements clearer and avoids future issues if those statements are expanded.

4. Var Keyword

😀 DO always prefer using the var keyword instead of the
explicit type:

var option = new CookieOptions();

😡 DO NOT use the explicit type:

CookieOptions option = new CookieOptions();

Why: It simplifies the code and isn’t any less understandable.

5. LINQ Single vs Where

😀 DO always prefer using the Where function instead of the Single :

var order = await DbContext.Orders
   .Where(x => x.Id == id)
   .Where(x => x.Status == OrderStatus.Created)
   .Where(x => x.Customer.Id == customerId)
   .SingleAsync(cancellationToken);

😡 DO NOT use the explicit type:

var order = await DbContext.Orders
  .SingleAsync(x => x.Id == id && x.Status == OrderStatus.Created && x.Status == OrderStatus.Created, cancellationToken);