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Can the C# ‘var’ keyword be misused?

By , 25 Jul 2011
 

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.

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

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.

 
[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[^]

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About the Author

Steve Wellens
EndWell Software, Inc.
United States United States
Member
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.

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AnswerYes, it can...memberzyrconium137 Jan '13 - 20:06 
GeneralRe: Q: How do you know "he" named the method GetData? A: You don...memberAdrian Cole17 Dec '11 - 20:22 
GeneralRe: The name has nothing to do with it. The return type of GetDa...protectorHeath Stewart10 Jul '11 - 17:02 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 var was added to support Linq, where...memberPIEBALDconsult4 Jan '12 - 8:17 
GeneralRe: That's funny...but keep your day job. I'm not a big fan of ...memberSteve Wellens4 Jan '12 - 10:08 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 You are preaching to the choir here....memberMarcus Kramer1 Nov '11 - 7:09 
GeneralI still don't see what the big deal is. Wanna know what Get...memberspring19751 Aug '11 - 10:19 
I still don't see what the big deal is. Wanna know what GetData returns? Go look at the method declaration.
 
I use var all of the time and have to go back to look at things long after I wrote it and this doesn't give me a problem. Do variable types seriously give people that much pause? Whether GetData returned a string or a DataTable can also easily be determined by looking at how the variable is used later on.
 
If you're editing code in textpad, that's your loss for not using the tools to make your life easier.
GeneralCore problem in "var" declarations is inability of someone w...memberKelqualyn26 Jul '11 - 0:17 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 I would totally agree with Steve: us...memberDrABELL25 Jul '11 - 17:37 
GeneralWe have a simple rule for the use of var: it may ONLY be use...memberchrisbray18 Jul '11 - 11:51 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 I couldn't agree more. Intellisense ...memberBloodyBaron18 Jul '11 - 11:01 
GeneralI coulnd't agree more with you, Steve :pmemberBloodyBaron18 Jul '11 - 10:59 
GeneralI was being facetious. Hover your mouse over this: va...memberSteve Wellens17 Jun '11 - 2:33 
General>> We got intellisense that can tell us >> how to handle th...memberSteve Wellens14 Jun '11 - 1:57 
GeneralRe: Two ways IntelliSense can help you: * Hover over it with you...memberisaks17 Jun '11 - 2:30 
GeneralRe: jgauffin is absolutely correct. The problem is not on the le...memberIAbstract18 Jul '11 - 11:03 
GeneralRe: It's a poor programmer who writes such code. The var keyword...memberDave The Brave21 Jul '11 - 4:21 
GeneralThe problem is not the "var" keyword, but that you have name...memberjgauffin13 Jun '11 - 20:37 
GeneralRe: I concur, the problem is not the var keyword, the problem is...memberDave The Brave21 Jul '11 - 4:20 

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