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C# Class: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Get You Started

Phil VuolletArticles, CodeBasics, PhilVuolletNo Comments

C_sharp_class_code_snippetWhen you first start out with C#, you’ll surely begin by creating a class. This is true whether you’re creating the code by hand or having a tool do it for you. The class is one of the most basic elements of the C# language. It serves many purposes, but the main purpose is for grouping related functions.

There’s more to a class than meets the eye. You can use a class in several ways depending on what style or paradigm of coding you’re using. Also, teams and even codebases often have different naming and casing conventions. In this post, you’ll learn more about the C# class. You’ll also learn about the importance of some best practices, such as following code conventions and using certain patterns.

With that said, let’s get started by outlining a basic class.

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Code Review Tools: The Different Kinds and 3 You Must Have

Carlos SchultsArticles, CarlosSchults, CodeReviewsNo Comments

A butler, a bouncer, and a nerdCode review is one of the most common topics here on the SubMain blog. Today’s post covers this subject again, this time attacking a very specific angle: code review tools. If you’ve been a software developer for a while, you’re probably familiar with at least a few of them.

But do you know the different types of tools out there? Would you know how to categorize them? Knowing how to do so might be the difference between adopting the right tool for the right situation or being paralyzed by doubt. Which situation would you prefer?

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CodeIt.Right for VS2019

Serge BaranovskyBeta, CodeIt.RightNo Comments

CodeIt.Right v2019 Beta is now available!

You need this version if you want to use CodeIt.Right with Visual Studio 2019.

Download CodeIt.Right v2019 Beta

Older version licenses

Note to the CodeIt.Right v3.x users: The v3.x (or earlier) license codes won’t work with the v2019. For users with License Protection and active Software Assurance subscription, we will be sending out the v2019 license codes. Alternatively, you can retrieve your v2019 licenses at the My Account page right now. Users without the License Protection or with expired Software Assurance subscription will need to purchase the new version. Currently, we are not offering an upgrade path other than the Software Assurance subscription. For information about the upgrade protection see our Software Assurance and Support – Renewal / Reinstatement Terms

Released: GhostDoc v2019

Serge BaranovskyGhostDoc, Releases5 Comments

GhostDoc v2019 is now available!

You need this version if you want to use GhostDoc with Visual Studio 2019.

Download GhostDoc

Older version licenses

Note to the GhostDoc v2018 users: The v2018.x (or earlier) license codes won’t work with the v2019. For users with License Protection and active Software Assurance subscription, we will be sending out the v2019 license codes. Alternatively, you can retrieve your v2019 licenses at the My Account page right now. Users without the License Protection or with expired Software Assurance subscription will need to purchase the new version. Currently, we are not offering an upgrade path other than the Software Assurance subscription. For information about the upgrade protection see our Software Assurance and Support – Renewal / Reinstatement Terms

Team Room Problems: 5 Signs of a Toxic Code Review Culture

Mark HenkeArticles, CodeIt.Right, CodeReviews, MarkHenke6 Comments

Code Review biohazardMany people have explored the concept of code reviews at length. They continue to be an integral part of the developer experience, for reasons I will discuss below. But, like most things that challenge us to improve, they can easily become awkward and a host for a variety of toxic behaviors. A number of articles have been written about proper code reviews, and they usually center around the idea of “being nice.” But I’m going to hone in on a few slightly different signs of toxicity in your code reviews. And with each sign, I’ll help you understand how you can change your team’s behavior to create a healthier environment.

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C# Comments: A Complete Guide, Including Examples

Carlos SchultsArticles, CarlosSchults, CodeBasics, Documentation, GhostDoc4 Comments

C_sharp_comments_sign_with_arrowTime for another C#-related post. We’ve already covered a fair amount of the language’s keywords, types, and concepts in previous posts. Today’s post covers C# comments, a topic that you might think is trivial.

My mission in this post is to convince you otherwise. True, comments are far from being the most exciting programming topic you could think of, I admit. And sure, comments have gotten a negative reputation over the years. But there’s more to comments than you might think.

In this post, you’ll learn about the definition of C# comments, followed by common justifications for their usage. Then we’ll proceed to show you the different possible types of C# comments and how to use them in practice. Let’s get started.

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DateTime.Now: Usage, Examples, Best Practices, and Pitfalls

Carlos SchultsArticles, CarlosSchults, CodeBasics, CodeIt.Right, CodeQuality3 Comments

Datetime.now_code_snippet_hand_drawn

For many developers, their first experience handling time in C# is by using DateTime.Now.

When needing to retrieve the current date and time, they’d search for it, reaching a StackOverflow question or some documentation page by Microsoft. They’d quickly find that the way you get the current instant is by using the “DateTime.Now.” They’d go back to their code, use the property, and be done with it.

Also, for many developers, the scenario described above is the extent of their education about DateTime.Now. This isn’t good. Why?

Well, time is one of the trickiest topics in programming. Not knowing about its intricacies can get you into trouble. We’re here to help avoid that, by taking a look at the dos and don’ts of DateTime.Now.

We’re going to cover what DateTime.Now is the basics of its use. Then we’ll go a bit deeper, showing some more advanced usage scenarios (i.e. output formatting), covering the best practices you should employ and also the pitfalls you must be aware of when working with this property.

Let’s get started.

Want to know if you're getting it right as you learn C#?
Download a free trial of CodeIt.Right and get an instant, automated code review.

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Software Documentation: What You Need to Document and How

Vlad GeorgescuArticles, Documentation, GhostDoc, VladGeorgescuNo Comments

 

A hand writing software documentation on paper

Software documentation is all about bringing clarity into a code baseline. It provides clues to clarify the meaning of certain code structures. For this purpose, we use best programming practices and tools to clarify our software.?When documenting software, we aim to minimize time spent hunting for meaning. We want anyone using or reading our code to know exactly what we meant when we wrote it. In addition, they should also know how to use our code without having to look for extra clues. Whether it’s an API, a suite of REST services, or simply a method in your code, it should all be clear.? When things are not clear, you have to dig up the meaning from other parts of the code, and this is a waste of time.

In this article, we’ll explore what information to document and how to do it. Lastly, we will talk about presenting our software documentation.

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CodeIt.Right Rules Explained, Part 22

Carlos SchultsArticles, CarlosSchults, CodeIt.Right, Rules, RulesExplainedNo Comments

CodeItRight_Rules_22Welcome back to the CodeIt.Right Rules Explained series. For those of you who haven’t seen an installment in this series, let’s explain what it’s all about.?CodeIt.Right?is a tool that performs automated code review for .NET. It checks your code against a set of rules, giving you valuable feedback on its quality. Throughout the series, we’ve been explaining these rules, always three at a time.

In every post in this series, we start with the following two rules of thumb:

  • Never implement a suggested fix without knowing what makes it a fix.
  • Never ignore a suggested fix without understanding what makes it a fix.

Trust me?we don’t phrase it this way to sound funny or anything. It’d be the same thing to say ?figure out why the tool is suggesting this.? But we don’t. And here’s why.

Each time CodeIt.Right shows you a warning, you must decide to either address it or ignore it.?Make that choice for the right reasons. Ignore the warning when you’re truly convinced it doesn’t apply to your situation or doesn’t provide enough benefits. Don’t ignore it because you don’t understand it very well and don’t feel like handling it.

Now that you understand what this post is all about, let’s get to today’s three rules.

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Released: GhostDoc v2018.2

Serge BaranovskyGhostDoc, ReleasesNo Comments

A minor feature update build v2018.2.19030 is now available

Changes in v2018.2

  • GhostDoc now uses Async integration with Visual Studio with background load enabled. This minimizes the GhostDoc load on Visual Studio startup.
  • Added new setting?Options -> Solution Options -> General -> “Use <inheritdoc /> tag for inherited comments”. When checked, GhostDoc will insert the <inheritdoc /> tag instead of copying the base member documentation.?Note: When using the <inheritdoc />, remember it is a custom tag and you must use GhostDoc to generate help documentation and VS Intellisense files.
  • Modified Properties, Methods, Indexer, Event and Constructor T4 templates to insert the <inheritdoc /> tag instead of copying the base member documentation – when UseInheritdocTag setting is True.
  • Encryptions within GhostDoc are now FIPS compliant.
  • Abbreviations dictionary now allows abbreviations with an empty value. This enables skipping abbreviations and word parts like prefix, suffix etc.
  • Now a new XML Comment template is generated when Visual Editor opens using Ctrl-Shift-D for the member that does not have XML Comment.
  • Numerous fixes and improvements

For the complete list of changes, see What?s New in GhostDoc v2018

Download GhostDoc

Feedback

We appreciate your feedback on the new features; please email us at support@submain.com or post in the GhostDoc Forum.

 

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