Best practices for C# GUI naming conventions? [closed]

Answer 1

I tend to use c_typeName (please note that type and Name are different), e.g. c_tbUserEmail for a TextBox into which the user should type in his/her e-mail. I find it useful because when there are a lots of a controls, it can be hard to find them in the miles long intellisense list, so by adding the c_ prefix I can easily see all controls in that form.

Answer 2

I wish someone would become the authority on this subject and just tell it like it is, and start enforcing it... The worst thing to me is when people mix it up in the same application or worse yet same class.

I've see some pretty horrible stuff with txtName, NameTextBox, name and textBox1 all used on the same form... yuck.

Where I work we have a standards document that tells us how to do it, where to do it, and I think only 20% of the people even care to try and conform.

I usually will change something if Fxcop yells at me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_conventions_%28programming%29

Capitalization Styles

Note that: Microsoft .NET recommends UpperCamelCase (aka "Pascal Style") for most identifiers. (lowerCamelCase is recommended for parameters).

Answer 3

This Hungarian/VB6-naming insanity needs to stop.

If Microsoft really wanted you to name your controls based on their type then why doesn't Visual Studio automatically tack on the 'txt' or 'btn' when you add the control to your web/win Form?

Answer 4

I use:

TextBox nameTextBox;

Just like I would use:

MailAddress homeAddress;

The reason for this is that in these cases "TextBox" and "Address" is descriptive of what the object represents, not how it is stored or used. But in another case like storing a person's full name I would use:

string fullName;

Not:

string fullNameString;

Because "String" is not descriptive of what the object represents, but only how it is stored.

Answer 5

I use Hungarian notation, that makes easy to find controlls in large pages.

Answer 6

I use the old school hungarian... txt for TextBox, btn for Button, followed by a generalized word, then a more specific word. i.e.:

btnUserEmail

Have had a lot of people say things like "omg thats so old, VB6 calling!" But in a UI Rich winforms app, I can find and modify things quicker because usually the first thing you know about a control is it's type, then it's category, then get specific. While the newer style naming convention guys are stuck trying to remember what they named that text box.

The original specification for controls is here (archived).