Effective C# (Covers C# 6.0) (3^rd Ed.)
50 Specific Ways to Improve Your C#
Effective Software Development Series

In Effective C#, Third Edition, respected .NET expert Bill Wagner identifies 50 ways to harness the full power of the C# 6.0 language to write exceptionally robust, efficient, and well-performing code. Reflecting the growing sophistication of the C# language and its development community, Wagner has identified dozens of new ways to write better code. This edition?s new solutions include some that take advantage of generics and several that are more focused on LINQ, as well as a full chapter of advanced best practices for working with exceptions.

Wagner?s clear, practical explanations, expert tips, and realistic code examples have made Effective C# indispensable to hundreds of thousands of developers. Drawing on his unsurpassed C# experience, he addresses everything from resource management to multicore support, and reveals how to avoid common pitfalls in the language and its .NET environment. Learn how to choose the most effective solution when multiple options exist, and how to write code that?s far easier to maintain and improve. Wagner shows how and why to

• Prefer implicitly typed local variables (see Item 1)
• Replace string.Format() with interpolated strings (see Item 4)
• Express callbacks with delegates (see Item 7)
• Make the most of .NET resource management (see Item 11)
• Define minimal and sufficient constraints for generics (see Item 18)
• Specialize generic algorithms using runtime type checking (see Item 19)
• Use delegates to define method constraints on type parameters (see Item 23)
• Augment minimal interface contracts with extension methods (see Item 27)
• Create composable APIs for sequences (see Item 31)
• Decouple iterations from actions, predicates, and functions (see Item 32)
• Prefer lambda expressions to methods (see Item 38)
• Distinguish early from deferred execution (see Item 40)
• Avoid capturing expensive resources (see Item 41)
• Use exceptions to report method contract failures (see Item 45)
• Leverage side effects in exception filters (see Item 50)

You?re already a successful C# programmer, and this book will make you an outstanding one.

Content Update Program: This title is no longer part of the Content Update Program. The content is final, and no further updates will be released.

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1: C# Language Idioms 1

Item 1: Prefer Implicitly Typed Local Variables 1

Item 2: Prefer readonly to const 7

Item 3: Prefer the is or as Operators to Casts 12

Item 4: Replace string.Format() with Interpolated Strings 19

Item 5: Prefer FormattableString for Culture-Specific Strings 23

Item 6: Avoid String-ly Typed APIs 26

Item 7: Express Callbacks with Delegates 28

Item 8: Use the Null Conditional Operator for Event Invocations 31

Item 9: Minimize Boxing and Unboxing 34

Item 10: Use the new Modifier Only to React to Base Class Updates 38

Chapter 2: .NET Resource Management 43

Item 11: Understand .NET Resource Management 43

Item 12: Prefer Member Initializers to Assignment Statements 48

Item 13: Use Proper Initialization for Static Class Members 51

Item 14: Minimize Duplicate Initialization Logic 53

Item 15: Avoid Creating Unnecessary Objects 61

Item 16: Never Call Virtual Functions in Constructors 65

Item 17: Implement the Standard Dispose Pattern 68

Chapter 3: Working with Generics 77

Item 18: Always Define Constraints That Are Minimal and Sufficient 79

Item 19: Specialize Generic Algorithms Using Runtime Type Checking 85

Item 20: Implement Ordering Relations with IComparable<T> and IComparer<T> 92

Item 21: Always Create Generic Classes That Support Disposable Type Parameters 98

Item 22: Support Generic Covariance and Contravariance 101

Item 23: Use Delegates to Define Method Constraints on Type Parameters 107

Item 24: Do Not Create Generic Specialization on Base Classes or Interfaces 112

Item 25: Prefer Generic Methods Unless Type Parameters Are Instance Fields 116

Item 26: Implement Classic Interfaces in Addition to Generic Interfaces 120

Item 27: Augment Minimal Interface Contracts with Extension Methods 126

Item 28: Consider Enhancing Constructed Types with Extension Methods 130

Chapter 4: Working with LINQ 133

Item 29: Prefer Iterator Methods to Returning Collections 133

Item 30: Prefer Query Syntax to Loops 139

Item 31: Create Composable APIs for Sequences 144

Item 32: Decouple Iterations from Actions, Predicates, and Functions 151

Item 33: Generate Sequence Items as Requested 154

Item 34: Loosen Coupling by Using Function Parameters 157

Item 35: Never Overload Extension Methods 163

Item 36: Understand How Query Expressions Map to Method Calls 167

Item 37: Prefer Lazy Evaluation to Eager Evaluation in Queries 179

Item 38: Prefer Lambda Expressions to Methods 184

Item 39: Avoid Throwing Exceptions in Functions and Actions 188

Item 40: Distinguish Early from Deferred Execution 191

Item 41: Avoid Capturing Expensive Resources 195

Item 42: Distinguish between IEnumerable and IQueryable Data Sources 208

Item 43: Use Single() and First() to Enforce Semantic Expectations on Queries 212

Item 44: Avoid Modifying Bound Variables 215

Chapter 5: Exception Practices 221

Item 45: Use Exceptions to Report Method Contract Failures 221

Item 46: Utilize using and try/finally for Resource Cleanup 225

Item 47: Create Complete Application-Specific Exception Classes 232

Item 48: Prefer the Strong Exception Guarantee 237

Item 49: Prefer Exception Filters to catch and re-throw 245

Item 50: Leverage Side Effects in Exception Filters 249

Index 253

Bill Wagner creates .NET learning materials for Microsoft. He is one of the world’s foremost C# experts and is a member of the ECMA C# Standards Committee. The president of Humanitarian Toolbox, he also now serves on the .NET Foundation Advisory Council and Technical Steering Committees. Wagner has worked with companies ranging from start-ups to enterprises, improving development processes and growing development teams. An internationally recognized writer, he authored this book’s first two editions, as well as More Effective C#. He holds a B.S. in computer science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

• Up-to-the-minute C# practical advice, best practices, tips, shortcuts, and idioms it would take you years to discover on your own
• Go from good to great, fast! Helps experienced C# programmers gain a far deeper understanding, so they can make the most of the language
• Improve your code with Bill Wagner's exclusive Code Analyzer
• By Bill Wagner, world-renowned C# author, MVP, speaker, Microsoft programming insider, Regional Director, and ECMA standards committee member
• Follows the wildly-popular "Effective" format proven in Scott Meyers' classic Effective C++