Avoiding Type Name Confusion

  • Article

Different programming languages use different terms to identify the fundamental managed types. Class library designers must avoid using language-specific terminology. Follow the rules described in this section to avoid type name confusion.

Use names that describe a type's meaning rather than names that describe the type. In the rare case that a parameter has no semantic meaning beyond its type, use a generic name. For example, a class that supports writing a variety of data types into a stream might have the following methods.

Sub Write(value As Double);
Sub Write(value As Single);
Sub Write(value As Long);
Sub Write(value As Integer);
Sub Write(value As Short);
[C#]
void Write(double value);
void Write(float value);
void Write(long value);
void Write(int value);
void Write(short value);

Do not create language-specific method names, as in the following example.

Sub Write(doubleValue As Double);
Sub Write(singleValue As Single);
Sub Write(longValue As Long);
Sub Write(integerValue As Integer);
Sub Write(shortValue As Short);
[C#]
void Write(double doubleValue);
void Write(float floatValue);
void Write(long longValue);
void Write(int intValue);
void Write(short shortValue);

In the extremely rare case that it is necessary to create a uniquely named method for each fundamental data type, use a universal type name. The following table lists fundamental data type names and their universal substitutions.

C# type name Visual Basic type name JScript type name Visual C++ type name Ilasm.exe representation Universal type name
sbyte SByte sByte char int8 SByte
byte Byte byte unsigned char unsigned int8 Byte
short Short short short int16 Int16
ushort UInt16 ushort unsigned short unsigned int16 UInt16
int Integer int int int32 Int32
uint UInt32 uint unsigned int unsigned int32 UInt32
long Long long __int64 int64 Int64
ulong UInt64 ulong unsigned __int64 unsigned int64 UInt64
float Single float float float32 Single
double Double double double float64 Double
bool Boolean boolean bool bool Boolean
char Char char wchar_t char Char
string String string String string String
object Object object Object object Object

For example, a class that supports reading a variety of data types from a stream might have the following methods.

ReadDouble()As Double
ReadSingle()As Single
ReadInt64()As Long
ReadInt32()As Integer
ReadInt16()As Short
[C#]
double ReadDouble();
float ReadSingle();
long ReadInt64();
int ReadInt32();
short ReadInt16();

The preceding example is preferable to the following language-specific alternative.

ReadDouble()As Double
ReadSingle()As Single
ReadLong()As Long
ReadInteger()As Integer
ReadShort()As Short
[C#]
double ReadDouble();
float ReadFloat();
long ReadLong();
int ReadInt();
short ReadShort();

See Also

Design Guidelines for Class Library Developers | Common Type System