Gist/documents/Powerof10Guide.md

NASA-style Programming for C#

I asked the AI to write their instructions in the form of guidelines. I figured I'd use C# since it's both my preferred language and the syntax should be fairly easy to grasp once you understand the basics.

My only request was to apply .NET 6's top-level statements for brevity. Aside from a few organizational tweaks with the guidelines and fixing the scope example to be wrapped in a class, it all works flawlessly.

1. Write Clear, Well-Structured, and Maintainable Code

• Keep the code simple and coherent. Use meaningful identifiers and limit the complexity of expressions.
• Keep functions or methods short, with a single responsibility.

Example:

// Good example of a short, focused method
int Sum(int a, int b)
{
    return a + b;
}

// Good example of clear, well-structured code
var result = Sum(5, 3);
Console.WriteLine($"The sum is {result}");

2. Follow Best Practices for Security, Performance, and Reliability

• Validate and sanitize inputs to prevent security vulnerabilities like injection attacks.
• Use try-catch blocks to handle exceptions gracefully.

Example:

using System.Globalization;

string userInput = "2023-10-30";
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(userInput, "yyyy-MM-dd", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out DateTime date))
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Parsed date: {date}");
}
else
{
    throw new FormatException("Invalid date format.");
}

3. Ensure Portability and Adaptability Across Different Environments

• Use environment variables or configuration files for environment-specific settings.
• Rely on cross-platform libraries within .NET.

Example:

// Reading configuration using environment variables
var configValue = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("CONFIG_KEY");
if (configValue != null)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Configuration value: {configValue}");
}
else
{
    throw new InvalidOperationException("Configuration key not found.");
}

4. Manage Resources Efficiently and Safely

• Prefer using statements to safely manage resource cleanup.
• Avoid excessive memory allocation and prefer stack-allocated variables.

Example:

// Using statement to ensure safe disposal
using (var reader = new StreamReader("example.txt"))
{
    string line;
    while ((line = reader.ReadLine()) != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(line);
    }
}

5. Use Minimal Scope for Variables and Functions

• Limit the visibility of variables and functions to the smallest scope necessary.

Example:

namespace Application;

class Program
{
	static void Main()
	{
        // 'a' and 'b' are limited to Main method scope
		int a = 5, b = 3;
		Console.WriteLine($"Sum: {Add(a, b)}");
	}

	static int Add(int a, int b)
	{
		// 'a' and 'b' are limited to Add method scope
		return a + b;
	}
}

6. Always Validate and Sanitize Input

• Sanitize and validate all external inputs to secure your application.

Example:

using System.Web;

string input = Console.ReadLine();
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(input))
{
    throw new ArgumentException("Input cannot be null or whitespace.");
}
else
{
    string sanitizedInput = HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(input);
    Console.WriteLine($"Processed input: {sanitizedInput}");
}

7. Documentation Comments

• Use XML documentation comments for functions or methods to improve maintainability and provide documentation.

Example:

/// <summary>
/// Sums two integers.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="a">The first integer.</param>
/// <param name="b">The second integer.</param>
/// <returns>The sum of the two integers.</returns>
int Sum(int a, int b)
{
    return a + b;
}

Example Using Top-Level Statements in .NET 6

Combining several of the above principles:

using System;
using System.Globalization;

string userInput = "45";
if (!int.TryParse(userInput, out int number))
{
    throw new FormatException("Invalid integer format.");
}

Console.WriteLine($"Parsed number: {number}");

void ProcessDate(string dateString)
{
    if (DateTime.TryParseExact(dateString, "yyyy-MM-dd", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out DateTime date))
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Parsed date: {date}");
    }
    else
    {
        throw new FormatException("Invalid date format.");
    }
}

ProcessDate("2023-10-31");