Functions should start with "Get"?

Question

Hi, I'm trying to look at the C# Coding Standards to make my code more beautiful and standard, and I have a question: Does functions (methods that are not voids), according to the C# coding standards, should start with "Get"? For example: "GetSongOrder()", "GetNextLine()" etc?

Thanks.

Answer 1

I haven't seen a C# standard on that, but most of the actual code I've seen written uses "getter" properties and they omit the word "Get" from the function name. Example:

Public SongOrderList SongOrder
{
    get
    {
      return mySongOrderList;
    }
}

Using "Get" (and "Set") as a function name prefix is something I usually see in langauges that don't have properties a la .NET (languages such as C, Java).

Edit:

...and of course you can have setters too

Public SongOrderList SongOrder
{
    get
    {
      //do some processing code here
      return mySongOrderList;
    }
    set
    {
      //do some processing code here
      mySongOrderList = value; //value is a C# keyword, in case you didn't know. it is the parameter to the setter
    }
}

Of course, if you want a getter and a setter and you don't need any extra processing, just pure Java-bean-like get/set youc an do this:

Public SongOrderList SongOrder
    {
        get; set;
    }

If you only want a PUBLIC getter you can do this (I think - it's been a while):

Public SongOrderList SongOrder
    {
        public get; private set;
    }

Answer 2

Your function name should be succinct, and make sense. Nothing more, nothing less.

If get works for you, then use Get. If Retrieve works, use that.

There is no true "standard" for naming conventions.

Answer 3

In general, a Verb-Noun naming convention for Functions is common. 'Get' is just one of the Verbs you might see. It could also be 'Activate', 'Close', 'Dump', or anything... it's just a consequence of English and general coding that a method or function will typically 'Do Something' to 'Some Type of Object(s)'.

Answer 4

There are two cases:

If the routine can "get" the value very quickly, without causing side effects in the code, I recommend using a property getter, and omitting the "get" name:

public SongOrder SongOrder
{
   get { return this.songOrder; } // ie: an enum
}

If, however, there is processing required, then a method with the "Get..." name is appropriate. This suggests that there may be side effects to calling this method, such as extra processing, or a change in some state:

public string GetNextLine()
{
    string line = this.stream.ReadLine(); // This may cause a longer running operation, especially if it's using Disk IO/etc
    // do other work?
    return line;
}

Answer 5

No, there is no standard that function should start with "Get".

When creating function names that make sense, they often take that form, like the GetHashCode function. Other verbs in the beginning are common, like in the ToString function, and only verbs like in the Encode function.

There are other forms, where you rather describe the result of the function, like the Substring function.

Answer 6

In addition to other answers - if you have a method like GetNextLine(), you may want to consider returning an enumeration instead e.g.

IEnumerable<Line> GetLines();