The Modern Developer’s Code Standards
Why The Modern Developer Needs Coding Standards
The Art of Software Development allows us to be expressive in our development.
As with any professional creative effort a level of freedom is important.
If the result of that expression is solely the responsibility of the creator, then the creator accepts all responsibility for the outcome.
When the outcome of the creative activity becomes a component of 
other creative works the creator’s expressive development should become a harmonious part of the whole creative result.
You have a responsibility as the Modern Developer to be consistent in your Development efforts.
To that congruent end is the intent of development coding conventions.
Coding Standards present a uniform approach so that a development team can feel comfortable in refactoring, when required to do so.
The Modern Developer’s Coding Standards
2. Namespace and Assembly Guidelines – Objects and Assembly Folder Organization Conventions
3. Using Statements Management – Class Level Management of Namespace Declarations
4. Access Modifier Conventions – Proper Encapsulation of Software Elements
5. Class Conventions – Class Level Guidelines for File Creations Structure Creation and Instantiation
6. Code Readability Guidelines – Organization for Comments, Regions and Dead Code
7. Method Conventions – Method level guidelines for structure, signatures and code elements
8. Property Conventions – Public and Private Property conventions for Class level variables
9. Variable Conventions – Method variables usage conventions
10. Helper Classes Guidelines – Use of Private and Public Code Reuse Helper Classes
11. Helper and Extension Method Guidelines – Use of Private and Public Helper Methods
12. Interface Guidelines – Proper use of Interfaces: When and Why
13. Exception Handling Conventions – Conditional and Catastrophic Exception Management
14. Data Transfer Object Conventions – State management using C# POCO classes as DTOs
15. Unit, Integration and Acceptance Testing Conventions – Testing Assemblies Structures
16. Test Driven Development Conventions – Create Tests that Generate Classes and Methods
Coding Standards are not Intended to be Creative Restrictions, they offer Creative Freedom.
Standards are like the brushes and paints of an artist.
They give you the freedom to create anything on your development canvas.
Standards create a collective creative environment that allows other artists to add to your work.
Coding Standards Defines ways to use the Creative Tools and Does Not Limit the way the Tools are used in the Creative Process
The coding standards define the use of the tools in our toolbox.
Additional reference for the use of Microsoft standards can be found in the Microsoft Design Guideline for Developing Class Libraries publication.
The Modern Developer must customize their Code Standards to reflect the Client’s environment s required.
The Modern Developer also has a responsibility to offer Code Standards suggestions to the Client with explanation as to the value of the recommendation to their Development environment.
REMEMBER: The Client ALWAYS has the Last Say on their Code Standards
… But You Can Help Them Understand Your Art
…… Lead By Example with Your Code Standards
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