Techno-Babble

C# Namespace Paths are Annoying

I’m really annoyed by the way C# handles partial namespace references.  Mainly because I never want to do it.  I always specify the full namespace (albeit in a using clause at the top).  Sometimes it makes sense to alias a namespace like we do with NHMA = NHibernate.Mapping.Attributes.

I just never have a need to reference other namespaces partially.  It seems fraught with peril.  Does anyone do this?

So, then, what’s really annoying though is when I don’t change any code, but I add a new folder and a new class in a new namespace, and suddenly all my existing code breaks, because of this stupid namespace approach.

Update: There is a solution, sort of

Well, there seems to be a solution.  I stumbled across a quasi-solution while reading this article: C# 2.0: Create Elegant Code with Anonymous Methods, Iterators, and Partial Classes.

I haven’t tested it yet, but apparently I can use the global namespace qualifier, “::”, which indicates that the reference should start at the global namespace (obviously).

So now I just need to update every single using reference to be prefixed with ::?  Seems like there is still the potential for collisions.

Annoying.

More info:

How to: Use the Namespace Alias Qualifier (C# Programming Guide)

Tags: Annoyances, C#