C# Guide

Applies to: C# 12+, .NET 8+, ASP.NET Core, Console Apps, Libraries

Core Principles

1. Type Safety: Enable nullable reference types project-wide; treat warnings as errors
2. Immutability First: Prefer records, readonly, and init properties for data types
3. Async All The Way: Use async/await end-to-end; never block on async code
4. Dependency Injection: Constructor injection via IServiceCollection; no service locator
5. Fail Fast: Validate inputs at boundaries; use guard clauses and ArgumentException

Guardrails

Version & Dependencies

• Target .NET 8+ with C# 12+ language features
• Use <Nullable>enable</Nullable> and <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings> in .csproj
• Pin package versions explicitly in .csproj (avoid floating * versions)
• Run dotnet restore before committing after dependency changes
• Audit new packages with dotnet list package --vulnerable before adding

Code Style

• Follow .NET naming conventions
• Public members: PascalCase | Private fields: _camelCase with underscore prefix
• Interfaces: IServiceName | Async methods: suffix with Async
• Use var when the type is obvious from the right side; explicit types otherwise
• One class per file; filename matches class name
• Use file-scoped namespaces (namespace MyApp.Services;)
• Configure .editorconfig for consistent formatting across the team
• Run dotnet format before every commit

Nullable Reference Types

• Enable globally: <Nullable>enable</Nullable> in every .csproj
• Never suppress warnings with #pragma warning disable unless documented
• Use [NotNullWhen], [MaybeNullWhen], [NotNull] attributes for complex nullability
• Use the null-forgiving operator ! sparingly and only with a justifying comment
• Prefer is not null over != null for null checks
• Use ?? and ??= for default values; ?. for conditional access

// Good: explicit nullability contract
public User? FindByEmail(string email)
{
    ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(email);
    return _users.FirstOrDefault(u => u.Email == email);
}

// Good: guard clause with null-coalescing
public void Process(Order order)
{
    var customer = order.Customer
        ?? throw new InvalidOperationException("Order must have a customer.");
    // ...
}

Async/Await

• Use async/await end-to-end; never call .Result or .Wait() (deadlock risk)
• Suffix all async methods with Async: GetUserAsync, SaveOrderAsync
• Use ValueTask<T> for hot paths that frequently complete synchronously
• Use ConfigureAwait(false) in library code (not in ASP.NET Core controllers)
• Use CancellationToken in all async method signatures that perform I/O
• Use IAsyncEnumerable<T> for streaming large result sets
• Set timeouts on all external calls with CancellationTokenSource

public async Task<User> GetUserAsync(
    int id, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
{
    return await _dbContext.Users
        .AsNoTracking()
        .FirstOrDefaultAsync(u => u.Id == id, cancellationToken)
        ?? throw new NotFoundException(nameof(User), id);
}

LINQ

• Prefer method syntax over query syntax for consistency
• Never put side effects inside LINQ queries (no mutations, no I/O)
• Use AsNoTracking() for read-only EF Core queries
• Materialize queries with ToListAsync() / ToArrayAsync() before returning
• Avoid Count() when Any() suffices
• Use Select to project only needed fields (avoid loading full entities)

// Good: projection, no-tracking, materialized
var activeEmails = await _dbContext.Users
    .AsNoTracking()
    .Where(u => u.IsActive)
    .Select(u => u.Email)
    .ToListAsync(cancellationToken);

// Bad: side effect in LINQ
var results = items.Select(i => { i.Processed = true; return i; }); // Don't do this

Project Structure

MySolution/
├── MySolution.sln
├── src/
│   ├── MySolution.Api/            # ASP.NET Core host / entry point
│   │   ├── Controllers/
│   │   ├── Middleware/
│   │   ├── Program.cs
│   │   └── MySolution.Api.csproj
│   ├── MySolution.Application/    # Use cases, commands, queries (CQRS)
│   │   ├── Commands/
│   │   ├── Queries/
│   │   ├── Interfaces/
│   │   └── MySolution.Application.csproj
│   ├── MySolution.Domain/         # Entities, value objects, domain events
│   │   ├── Entities/
│   │   ├── ValueObjects/
│   │   ├── Exceptions/
│   │   └── MySolution.Domain.csproj
│   └── MySolution.Infrastructure/ # EF Core, external services, file I/O
│       ├── Persistence/
│       ├── Services/
│       └── MySolution.Infrastructure.csproj
├── tests/
│   ├── MySolution.UnitTests/
│   │   └── MySolution.UnitTests.csproj
│   ├── MySolution.IntegrationTests/
│   │   └── MySolution.IntegrationTests.csproj
│   └── MySolution.ArchTests/      # Architecture rule tests (optional)
│       └── MySolution.ArchTests.csproj
├── .editorconfig
├── Directory.Build.props          # Shared build properties
└── README.md

• Domain project has zero external dependencies (pure C#)
• Application depends only on Domain
• Infrastructure depends on Application and Domain
• Api depends on all projects (composition root)
• Test projects mirror src/ structure

Key Patterns

Nullable Reference Types & Guard Clauses

public sealed class OrderService
{
    private readonly IOrderRepository _repository;

    public OrderService(IOrderRepository repository)
    {
        _repository = repository ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(repository));
    }

    public async Task<OrderSummary> GetSummaryAsync(
        int orderId, CancellationToken ct = default)
    {
        ArgumentOutOfRangeException.ThrowIfNegativeOrZero(orderId);

        var order = await _repository.GetByIdAsync(orderId, ct)
            ?? throw new NotFoundException(nameof(Order), orderId);

        return new OrderSummary(order.Id, order.Total, order.Status);
    }
}

Pattern Matching

// Switch expression with property patterns
public decimal CalculateDiscount(Customer customer) => customer switch
{
    { MembershipLevel: "Gold", YearsActive: > 5 } => 0.20m,
    { MembershipLevel: "Gold" } => 0.15m,
    { MembershipLevel: "Silver" } => 0.10m,
    { TotalOrders: > 100 } => 0.05m,
    _ => 0m,
};

// Relational and logical patterns
public string ClassifyTemperature(double temp) => temp switch
{
    < 0 => "Freezing",
    >= 0 and < 15 => "Cold",
    >= 15 and < 25 => "Moderate",
    >= 25 and < 35 => "Warm",
    >= 35 => "Hot",
};

// Type pattern in is-expression
public static string Describe(object value) => value switch
{
    int n when n < 0 => $"Negative integer: {n}",
    int n => $"Positive integer: {n}",
    string { Length: 0 } => "Empty string",
    string s => $"String of length {s.Length}",
    null => "null",
    _ => $"Unknown: {value.GetType().Name}",
};

Records & Immutable Data

// Record for DTOs and value objects (value equality, immutable)
public sealed record OrderSummary(int Id, decimal Total, OrderStatus Status);

// Record with validation
public sealed record EmailAddress
{
    public string Value { get; }

    public EmailAddress(string value)
    {
        ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(value);
        if (!value.Contains('@'))
            throw new ArgumentException("Invalid email format.", nameof(value));
        Value = value;
    }
}

// Record struct for high-performance value types (no heap allocation)
public readonly record struct Coordinate(double Latitude, double Longitude);

// Nondestructive mutation with `with`
var updated = original with { Status = OrderStatus.Shipped };

Async Streams

// Producing an async stream
public async IAsyncEnumerable<LogEntry> StreamLogsAsync(
    DateTime since,
    [EnumeratorCancellation] CancellationToken ct = default)
{
    await foreach (var batch in _logSource.ReadBatchesAsync(since, ct))
    {
        foreach (var entry in batch.Entries)
        {
            ct.ThrowIfCancellationRequested();
            yield return entry;
        }
    }
}

// Consuming an async stream
await foreach (var log in StreamLogsAsync(DateTime.UtcNow.AddHours(-1), ct))
{
    Console.WriteLine($"[{log.Timestamp}] {log.Message}");
}

Dependency Injection

// Registration in Program.cs (or a ServiceCollectionExtensions class)
public static IServiceCollection AddApplicationServices(
    this IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddScoped<IOrderRepository, OrderRepository>();
    services.AddScoped<IOrderService, OrderService>();
    services.AddSingleton<IClock, SystemClock>();
    services.AddHttpClient<IPaymentGateway, StripePaymentGateway>(client =>
    {
        client.BaseAddress = new Uri("https://api.stripe.com/");
        client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(10);
    });

    return services;
}

// Constructor injection (no service locator, no static access)
public sealed class OrderService : IOrderService
{
    private readonly IOrderRepository _repository;
    private readonly IClock _clock;

    public OrderService(IOrderRepository repository, IClock clock)
    {
        _repository = repository;
        _clock = clock;
    }
}

Testing

Standards

• Framework: xUnit (preferred), with [Fact] and [Theory]
• Mocking: NSubstitute or Moq (pick one per project, stay consistent)
• Assertions: FluentAssertions for readable assertion syntax
• Test naming: MethodName_Scenario_ExpectedResult
• One assertion concept per test (multiple Should calls for same concept OK)
• Use [Theory] with [InlineData] for parameterized tests
• Coverage target: >80% for business logic, >60% overall

Unit Test Example

public sealed class OrderServiceTests
{
    private readonly IOrderRepository _repository = Substitute.For<IOrderRepository>();
    private readonly IClock _clock = Substitute.For<IClock>();
    private readonly OrderService _sut;

    public OrderServiceTests()
    {
        _sut = new OrderService(_repository, _clock);
    }

    [Fact]
    public async Task GetSummaryAsync_ExistingOrder_ReturnsSummary()
    {
        // Arrange
        var order = new Order { Id = 1, Total = 99.99m, Status = OrderStatus.Pending };
        _repository.GetByIdAsync(1, Arg.Any<CancellationToken>()).Returns(order);

        // Act
        var result = await _sut.GetSummaryAsync(1);

        // Assert
        result.Should().NotBeNull();
        result.Id.Should().Be(1);
        result.Total.Should().Be(99.99m);
        result.Status.Should().Be(OrderStatus.Pending);
    }

    [Fact]
    public async Task GetSummaryAsync_MissingOrder_ThrowsNotFoundException()
    {
        // Arrange
        _repository.GetByIdAsync(99, Arg.Any<CancellationToken>())
            .Returns((Order?)null);

        // Act
        var act = () => _sut.GetSummaryAsync(99);

        // Assert
        await act.Should().ThrowAsync<NotFoundException>()
            .WithMessage("*Order*99*");
    }

    [Theory]
    [InlineData(0)]
    [InlineData(-1)]
    [InlineData(-100)]
    public async Task GetSummaryAsync_InvalidId_ThrowsArgumentException(int invalidId)
    {
        var act = () => _sut.GetSummaryAsync(invalidId);

        await act.Should().ThrowAsync<ArgumentOutOfRangeException>();
    }
}

Integration Test Example

public sealed class OrdersApiTests : IClassFixture<WebApplicationFactory<Program>>
{
    private readonly HttpClient _client;

    public OrdersApiTests(WebApplicationFactory<Program> factory)
    {
        _client = factory.WithWebHostBuilder(builder =>
        {
            builder.ConfigureServices(services =>
            {
                // Replace real DB with in-memory for tests
                services.RemoveAll<DbContextOptions<AppDbContext>>();
                services.AddDbContext<AppDbContext>(opts =>
                    opts.UseInMemoryDatabase("TestDb"));
            });
        }).CreateClient();
    }

    [Fact]
    public async Task GetOrder_ReturnsOk_WhenOrderExists()
    {
        var response = await _client.GetAsync("/api/orders/1");

        response.StatusCode.Should().Be(HttpStatusCode.OK);
        var body = await response.Content.ReadFromJsonAsync<OrderSummary>();
        body.Should().NotBeNull();
        body!.Id.Should().Be(1);
    }
}

Tooling

Essential Commands

dotnet new sln                           # Create solution
dotnet new webapi -n MyApp.Api           # New Web API project
dotnet sln add src/MyApp.Api             # Add project to solution
dotnet restore                           # Restore packages
dotnet build --no-restore                # Build
dotnet test --no-build --verbosity normal # Run tests
dotnet test --collect:"XPlat Code Coverage" # With coverage
dotnet format                            # Format code
dotnet publish -c Release -o ./publish   # Publish for deployment

Analyzers & EditorConfig

<!-- Directory.Build.props (shared across all projects) -->
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <TreatWarningsAsErrors>true</TreatWarningsAsErrors>
    <EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>true</EnforceCodeStyleInBuild>
    <AnalysisLevel>latest-recommended</AnalysisLevel>
  </PropertyGroup>

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers"
                      Version="8.0.0" PrivateAssets="all" />
    <PackageReference Include="SonarAnalyzer.CSharp"
                      Version="9.32.0" PrivateAssets="all" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

# .editorconfig (key settings)
[*.cs]
indent_style = space
indent_size = 4
dotnet_sort_system_directives_first = true
csharp_style_namespace_declarations = file_scoped:warning
csharp_style_var_for_built_in_types = false:suggestion
csharp_style_var_when_type_is_apparent = true:suggestion
csharp_style_prefer_switch_expression = true:suggestion
csharp_style_prefer_pattern_matching = true:suggestion
csharp_prefer_simple_using_statement = true:suggestion
dotnet_style_prefer_is_null_check_over_reference_equality_method = true:warning

References

For detailed patterns and examples, see:

• references/patterns.md -- Async patterns, DI registration, LINQ examples

External References

• C# Language Reference
• .NET Naming Conventions
• Nullable Reference Types
• Async/Await Best Practices
• xUnit Documentation
• FluentAssertions
• NSubstitute
• .NET Architecture Guides