basic question on C# - do I need a namespace? [closed]

Question

I am a Java developer, totally new to C#. I am currently writing a DLL for distribution across my organization. It is a very simple library containing a couple of classes and I do not see any real use in putting all of them into some namespace just for the sake of it. Do I really have to use a namespace? If so, why? Is it some kind of a best practice?

Williwaw

Do you really need a package when you do such thing in Java? – Ottie

You'd use package namespaces in java, though, right? – Joub

ok..so here is the real problem which led me to this question. I tried putting all the classes into a namespace called 'A'. The main class also is named 'A'. With this, the client applications are having to refer to this main class as A.A, which looks awkward. This does not happen in Java because in Java there is a clear distinction between a package name and a class name..there is no room for ambiguity..which doesn't seem to be the case with C#. – Williwaw

don't name your classes and namespaces so ambiguously, then... – Clunk

I would have loved to not have namespaces on top of classes (unless absolutely required) in assemblies, but unfortunately VS differentiates classes with same name on the basis of namespaces and not assemblies they are residing in. Read this too namespaces-are-obsolete – Colombia

Answer 1

Do you need one? No. Should you have one? Yes. It'll help prevent clashes with identically named classes in other namespaces without having to resort to the (IMHO) ugly use of global::.

Nobe

Besides, the concept is easy to grasp and implement, so there is no real good reason to avoid namespaces. – Cola

Answer 2

For throwaway test apps (e.g. checking Stack Overflow answers), I don't use a namespace. For anything else, I do. It's just an organization thing - if you're going to reuse code, it's helpful to separate it from other code you're also reusing in the same context. What I mean is, if you're creating an app using LibraryX and LibraryY, it's useful to be able to differentiate between them within the app. It's possible that they both use the same class names, for example - which will make the code ugly if you don't use namespaces.

Aside from anything else, if you're coding with Visual Studio it's actually more work not to include a namespace - you've got to modify the project to give it an empty default namespace.

Immixture

Answer 3

There is no need to have a namespace. However developer studio expects you to be using a name space. For example, when you choose to add a class to a project developer studio will:

• Create a file for the class
• Add the file to the project
• Create an empty class (in the above file) that is in the project’s default namespace.

A “project’s default namespace” is a developer studio concept not a C# concept and is set in the properties of the project.

As you are creating a dll for others to use, it will be a lot easier for the users of your dll if you have a name space:

• People expect you to have a namespace (so may be confused if you don’t)
• Namespaces make it a lot easier for your users if you have class (or enum etc) that is named the same as another class in any dll they are linking to.

Therefore I don’t see a good reason not to use a namespace.

Scurlock

Not so sure if the “project’s default namespace” is truly a studio-only feature. When reading embedded resources from a dll you need to prefix their path with the “project default namespace”. So it is a concept in the .NET Framework as well. Maybe there is a good reason for that... And yes, this is a high-jack :) – Alicaalicante

Answer 4

To respond to your comment about naming a class the same as it's namespace, read a little bit of the following article.

Short version: don't do that.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ericlippert/archive/2010/03/09/do-not-name-a-class-the-same-as-its-namespace-part-one.aspx

Enthusiasm

Answer 5

I might be 14 years late but I wanted to share when and why I use namespaces in C#.

I personally use namespaces when I have different classes that are somehow related to each other. Grouping classes in the same namespace allows me to create a Type that I can use outside the scope of the namespace to access Fields and Methods of the classes within the namespace.

Overall, it improves the organization of my code and enforces a "separation of concerns" thinking for me.

There are situations where none of my classes are related in any way. In such situations, I generally do not use namespaces.

Rase

Answer 6

My vote for "yes" i think it is good habit to use namespace. you can not be sure that people won't use same class names.

Overcasting