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Can the C# ‘var’ Keyword be Misused?

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21 Jul 2011CPOL 16.9K   1   9
More and more often I've been seeing C# code like this: var Data = GetData(); What on earth does GetData() return? This code is not as maintainable as it could be and is not as maintainable as it should be.

More and more often I've been seeing C# code like this:

C#
var Data = GetData(); 

What on earth does GetData() return? This code is not as maintainable as it could be and is not as maintainable as it should be.

Doesn't explicitly declaring the variable type make the code more readable, understandable and ultimately more maintainable?

C#
DataTable Data = GetData(); 

Ahhh, GetData() returns a DataTable.

I know that var has uses but I wish it would have been named something much longer because typing 'var' is too easy. Perhaps it should have been named AutomaticTypeVar or even AutoVar to reduce the lazy misuse.

Just my 2 cents.

Steve Wellens

[Update]

A user on the Asp.Net forums was kind enough to provide this quote and link:

"However, the use of var does have at least the potential to make your code more difficult to understand for other developers. For that reason, the C# documentation generally uses var only when it is required."

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb384061.aspx 

 

[Update II]

There seem to be a lot of lazy developers who are trying to justify and rationalize their lazy habits. 

Let's try a heuristic approach to see if the concept of maintenance can be better communicated:

C#
var x = FunctionA();              // this is unacceptable

var x = GetCustomerID();          // better

var CustID = GetCustomerID();     // better but what is CustID?

String CustID = GetCustomerID();  // best.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
EndWell Software, Inc.
United States United States
I am an independent contractor/consultant working in the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. I work in .Net, Asp.Net, C#, C++, XML, SQL, Windows Forms, HTML, CSS, etc., etc., etc.

Comments and Discussions

 
Question"Var" is good when it avoids redundancy; bad when it obscures needed information. Pin
supercat921-Jul-11 9:42
supercat921-Jul-11 9:42 
AnswerRe: "Var" is good when it avoids redundancy; bad when it obscures needed information. Pin
Jaime Olivares1-Aug-11 15:12
Jaime Olivares1-Aug-11 15:12 
GeneralI agree -- I hate the trade-off of convenience vs. stability (or security) Pin
Bit-Smacker15-Jun-10 7:01
Bit-Smacker15-Jun-10 7:01 
GeneralI just had to... Pin
Tom Janssens6-Apr-10 6:47
Tom Janssens6-Apr-10 6:47 
GeneralAbout 'var' name Pin
Jaime Olivares19-Nov-09 18:24
Jaime Olivares19-Nov-09 18:24 
GeneralRe: About 'var' name [modified] Pin
Steve Wellens1-Aug-11 15:04
Steve Wellens1-Aug-11 15:04 
GeneralRe: About 'var' name Pin
Jaime Olivares1-Aug-11 15:08
Jaime Olivares1-Aug-11 15:08 
GeneralRe: About 'var' name Pin
Steve Wellens1-Aug-11 15:10
Steve Wellens1-Aug-11 15:10 
GeneralRe: About 'var' name Pin
Jaime Olivares1-Aug-11 15:19
Jaime Olivares1-Aug-11 15:19 

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