.NET Development Patterns

Idiomatic C# and .NET patterns for building robust, performant, and maintainable applications.

When to Activate

• Writing new C# code
• Reviewing C# code
• Refactoring existing .NET applications
• Designing service architectures with ASP.NET Core

Core Principles

1. Prefer Immutability

Use records and init-only properties for data models. Mutability should be an explicit, justified choice.

// Good: Immutable value object
public sealed record Money(decimal Amount, string Currency);

// Good: Immutable DTO with init setters
public sealed class CreateOrderRequest
{
    public required string CustomerId { get; init; }
    public required IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> Items { get; init; }
}

// Bad: Mutable model with public setters
public class Order
{
    public string CustomerId { get; set; }
    public List<OrderItem> Items { get; set; }
}

2. Explicit Over Implicit

Be clear about nullability, access modifiers, and intent.

// Good: Explicit access modifiers and nullability
public sealed class UserService
{
    private readonly IUserRepository _repository;
    private readonly ILogger<UserService> _logger;

    publ…