CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#dllmodularity
KansaiRobot
KansaiRobot

Reputation: 9912

Should I write a library from some code I have that has the possibility to be needed across projects?

I am writing a C# application with Visual Studio that is divided in several modules (namespaces). Every module of course is going to be in charge of some particular function. For example there is a module that will deal with calling some firmware some place else, another module that will deal with just the UI with the user etc.

So far I have no problem doing that. But while writing the first module, I realized that perhaps the classes that I create for this, could very well be used for other future projects since their architectures seem similar.

So I am wondering if it would be a good decision to:

Upvotes: -1

Views: 37

Answers (1)

jason.kaisersmith
jason.kaisersmith

Reputation: 9610

You have to look at all the options and consider everything.

If you create a separate library then you need to be sure that you know all the requirements ahead of time, so that you can keep the library as stable as possible. As, each time you update the library you will need to update all of your projects which use it.

Creating a library will be at least little more work initially.

A well designed and developed library will give you the ability to be able to just drop it into a future project and be sure that it will do what you want.

A badly designed one will mean that you keep going back to it to make changes time and time again and have to keep updating all your projects, or maintain backwards compatibility which means you could end up with multiple different versions of the same method. And end up with something difficult to maintain and update.

You have to weigh all of this up against the advantages you would gain by using a library.

My experience, is that if you need to do something twice then often copy and paste is better. If you need to do it more than that, or sometimes if it is quite complex, then a library starts to pay off. But still for little things copy and paste is still easier, quicker, and lighter.

Upvotes: 2

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