10 Common C# Programming Traps to Avoid

C# is a widely-used programming language for creating windows applications, web applications, mobile applications as well as server environments. The language includes strict type checking which means that it is easier to debug and find errors in your code. But we understand how much overwhelming it becomes to understand those errors and fix them. So why not adopt better coding methods from the beginning itself. Today, our experts are providing the 10 most common mistakes that students often make while programming in C#.

1. Not defining the data type of a variable.

The ‘var’ keyword appears a good option when you have no idea about the data types especially when you are retrieving data with LINQ. But it is always recommended to specify the data type if you have knowledge about it. This will help the other programmers and your instructor in understanding the logic of your program. Our C sharp assignment help experts can assist you in creating well-documented programs so that you will understand their concept and logic at the times of your exams as well.

2. Rethrowing an exception with an instance

If your program includes a part in which you need to re-throw an exception them make sure that you are doing that with the help of throw keyword. Consider this example where the code is re-throwing the exception with the same instance. This is actually a wrong programming practice.

Catch ( ExceptionName excep)

{

logger.log (excep);

throw except;

}

Use the following method instead:

Catch ( ExceptionName excep)

{ 

logger.log (excep);

throw;

}

3. Accessing a Virtual Member in a constructor

The virtual keyword in the C sharp programming language tells the compiler that the following method can be overridden by a derived class. So, if you are initializing an overridden member in the constructor of the base class then you might be accessing a code that is not yet required. Hence, make sure that you are initializing only the members of the base class that are not virtual in its constructor.

4. Incorrect casting in C sharp

Many C sharp developers specify that ‘(T)’ casting and ‘as (T)’ casting have a huge difference. It is advisable to use the ‘as (T)’ casting method. As a student, your programs might not get affected but in the long run, this tip will certainly be beneficial to you. Here is the correct syntax:

var student = (Student) person; // an incorrect way to typecast

var student = person as Student; // correct way to typecast

5. Usage of ‘for each’ and ‘for’ loops

Your instructor might have told you to use ‘for each’ loop in case of collections only and otherwise use the ‘for’' loop. Have you tried to find the reason why? You might think for each is just an extension of the for loop but it is quite different. For each loop considers everything as a collection and thus requires much memory than the for a loop. Thereby, the for each loop might be reducing the performance of the code.

6. The efficient way to concatenate strings

How often do you use the StringBuilder class? Well, it holds many benefits than normal string. One of them is the concatenation process. When we concatenate two Strings in C# it creates a new memory location and then copies the concatenated string to it. This is quite inefficient as anytime a concatenation operation is being performed a new memory location will be used. StringBuilder on the other hand just copies the concatenated string at the same place.

7. Memory Leaks

Consider this tip as an extension of our previous tip to save the memory. Memory leak is another serious issue that the newbie developers often do not pay attention to. Memory leak in C# programming is a condition when you have allocated a memory to an object that no longer exists but its memory is reserved. Until this condition prevails no new object can be assigned that memory location. Hence, it is really important to dispose of the objects once they are not required any further in the program. You can use the ‘using’ statement to do so. 

8. Using a wrong collection type

C sharp collections serve a number of purposes and C# provides different types of collections to hold different types of data elements such as Stack, Queue, Array, ArrayList, BitArray, List, string dictionary, StringCollection and many more. It might require a prior research and a couple of minutes of a programmer but you should always select the appropriate collection for the appropriate data items. The collections are being developed to handle the specific type of items efficiently. Hence, choosing the right ones will help you in utilizing its benefits. 

9. Not using string. Empty

Many times students initialize a string using “”. But the best practice to initialize an empty string is by using the string. Empty statement. You should practice avoiding hard coding. You can learn more about C# strings with our assignment help Sydney.

10. Taking ‘Warnings’ lightly

The C# compiler shows a warning when something is underhanded in your code. Although the program might be running correctly you should have a look at those warnings as they indicate that your program is not exactly implemented the way you wanted it to. So take out a minute or two to fix those warnings.