Class Naming Guidelines
The following rules outline the guidelines for naming classes:
- Use a noun or noun phrase to name a class.
- Use Pascal case.
- Use abbreviations sparingly.
- Do not use a type prefix, such as
C
for class, on a class name. For example, use the class nameFileStream
rather thanCFileStream
. - Do not use the underscore character (_).
- Occasionally, it is necessary to provide a class name that begins with the letter I, even though the class is not an interface. This is appropriate as long as I is the first letter of an entire word that is a part of the class name. For example, the class name
IdentityStore
is appropriate. - Where appropriate, use a compound word to name a derived class. The second part of the derived class's name should be the name of the base class. For example,
ApplicationException
is an appropriate name for a class derived from a class namedException
, becauseApplicationException
is a kind ofException
. Use reasonable judgment in applying this rule. For example,Button
is an appropriate name for a class derived fromControl
. Although a button is a kind of control, makingControl
a part of the class name would lengthen the name unnecessarily.
The following are examples of correctly named classes.
Public Class FileStream
Public Class Button
Public Class String
[C#]
public class FileStream
public class Button
public class String
See Also
Design Guidelines for Class Library Developers | Base Class Usage Guidelines