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C# FAQs

Common C# Mistakes

1. Iterating through values instead of using LINQ

In almost any application, you’ll eventually need to enumerate values and store them in a List or a Collection. You could end up having to iterate through thousands of records. Consider pulling a list of customers, for example. If you have 100,000 customers, iterating through each of them just to find a specific data set isn’t efficient. Instead of using a foreach or for loop, use LINQ (Language-Integrated Query), which is an integrated .NET feature that’s designed to make it easier to query objects such as collections and lists.

2. Using “var” needlessly when you know the data type

With the introduction of MVC-style (model-view-controller) C# coding, many developers turned to LINQ to retrieve a collection of values. In many instances, you don’t always know the result, and “var” helps you to avoid errors from your code if a null or a data type that you weren’t expecting is returned.

However, you should still define a data type if you do know what it will be. This helps with readability, so other coders can work with your code and maintain it without struggling to understand logic and output.

3. Using public class variables instead of properties

Properties are commonplace for object-oriented programming (OOP), but why use them when you can just make all of your class variables public? One answer: You can control who can set a property with OOP properties, but you can’t with a public variable.

Take a look at this code:

public decimal Total {get; protected set;}

In this statement, only the class itself or derived classes can set the total. Consider an Order class that calculates a total for a customer’s order. You don’t want any external class to change the order, but you do want the Order class and any derived classes to add or subtract values stored by the Total variable. If you simply make the variable public, any class can change an order total without any restrictions.

4. Not disposing of objects

Memory leaks (also called resource leaks) are a real problem for any application. C# provides you with a convenient way to call the Dispose method after you’re finished with an object, so you don’t even need to remember to use it. The “using” statement will dispose of an object and avoid troublesome memory leaks.

5. Using “” instead of string.empty

This is a minor annoyance for developers, and is more about readability and code maintenance than efficiency. The performance difference is minor, but it’s difficult to read and can easily be overlooked as something else. For instance, “” can be overlooked and read as “ “, which is an entirely different value.

Instead of using “” to initialize a string, use string.Empty. This value initializes your string and can’t be accidentally read as a different value.

6. Using generic try-catch exceptions

Many new coders use the generic Exception class instead of specifying the exception that was thrown. All other C# classes are derived from the general Exception class, and you can create custom exception classes that inherit the general class. However, you should always use specific exceptions.

This type of try-catch design specifies the exception that is thrown, so you can more easily log errors, debug, and troubleshoot. You can still use the general Exception class for unknown possible exceptions, but it should be used sparingly.

7. Wrapping entire methods in one try-catch block

We showed you a simple try-catch block in the section above, encapsulating only one statement with the exception handler. A common mistake many new developers make is to wrap a try-catch block around an entire method.

You should use try-catch blocks in logic sections of your code. For instance, don’t use one block when you have a method that reads a file, stores content in a variable, and then sends the data to a database. Break up your blocks to handle the reading of the file, the loops that store data, and then the section that uploads the information to a database.

8. Using string concatenation incorrectly

In older languages, it was common just to use the plus sign to concatenate strings. The problem with this is that it’s an inefficient way to concatenate strings, so Microsoft introduced StringBuilder to help with memory and performance issues.

Use StringBuilder whenever you want to concatenate strings or manipulate them throughout your code. You don’t always need to use them for simple, basic strings, but it’s useful when you need to take a list of values such as those from a file and put them together to create one input that you then output to the user, or store to your database.

9. Forgetting to log errors

What happens when a user calls you to say that the application is throwing an error during form submission? How do you know what input the user is using? How do you know if it’s the form submission or some other event? That’s what logs are for. You should always log errors using your exception standards (mentioned earlier) and either a third-party logging tool or a customized one. There are plenty of third-party tools that give you in-depth analysis, so it’s often easier to use a pre-existing, reputable application rather than build your own from the ground up.

C# vs. C++

At a very basic level, both C# and C++ have similar code. C# is much newer to the game, however. It was introduced by Microsoft as a Java competitor in 2000. C++ has been a foundation language for many other languages, and it was introduced way back in the 1980s. Consequently, C++ has a much more prominent appearance in applications.

C# vs. C++: Similarities

Both C++ and C# are object-oriented languages, although C++ is considered a harder language to work with. Both of them can be used in web and desktop applications, but C# is much more popular now for both applications. C++ is considered a more prestigious language used for applications such as games, operating systems, and very low-level programming that requires better control of hardware on the PC or server.

C# is a C-based language, so it makes the two syntaxes similar. The developer uses brackets to segment coding structures, and the C-style object-oriented code that includes dependencies and libraries are very similar. C# handles much of the overhead that must be considered in a C++ program. This is just one reason C++ is considered a more difficult language to learn in the development world.

Because C# was developed to compete against Java, it’s much more similar to the Java language, but it still has similarities with C++.

C# and C++: Differences

The similarities of C++ and C# are few because the languages are much more different than they are similar. Although the syntax is similar, don’t assume that the languages are similar behind the scenes.

A list of differences between the two languages include:

• Size of binaries: We mentioned that the two languages are compiled languages that turn your code into binary files. C# has a lot of overhead and libraries included before it will compile. C++ is much more lightweight. Therefore, C# binaries are much larger after it compiles compared to C++.
• Performance: C++ is widely used when higher level languages are not efficient. C++ code is much faster than C# code, which makes it a better solution for applications where performance is important. For instance, your network analysis software might need some C++ code, but performance is probably not a huge issue for a standard word processing application coded in C#.
• Garbage collection: With C#, you don’t have to worry much about garbage collection. With C++, you have no automatic garbage collection and must allocate and deallocate memory for your objects.
• Platform target: C# programs are usually targeted towards the Windows operating system, although Microsoft is working towards cross-platform support for C# programs. With C++, you can code for any platform including Mac, Windows and Linux.
• Types of projects: C++ programmers generally focus on applications that work directly with hardware or that need better performance than other languages can offer. C++ programs include server-side applications, networking, gaming, and even device drivers for your PC. C# is generally used for web, mobile and desktop applications.
• Compiler warnings: C++ will let you do almost anything provided the syntax is right. It’s a flexible language, but you can cause some real damage to the operating system. C# is much more protected and gives you compiler errors and warnings without allowing you to make some serious errors that C++ will allow.

Which language should you use for your project?

If your application is a simple web or desktop application, most developers will urge you to work with C# if it’s their language of choice. If you want an application that works directly with computer hardware or deals with application development that C# is not efficient with, your developer will likely urge you to go with C++. A general rule of thumb is that web and desktop development is done using a higher level language such as C#.

C++ is a lot more well-rounded in terms of platforms and target applications, but the developer pool is more limited since it’s not as popular for web and mobile applications. If your project is focused on extremely low-level processing, then you may need a C++ developer. You can also use C++ to create efficient, fast applications for server-side software.