C# Coding Conventions, The Better Way of Writing Your Code in Unity

shakiroslann -
"If you want your code to be easy to write, make it easy to read" - Robert C.Martin, author of Clean Code and Agile Software Development

Let’s talk about the C# naming conventions. Honestly, the thing that I just recently found out and did not realize before. Anyways, C# is typically written in camelCase or PascalCase conventions.

camelCase

camelCase is when the first letter of the variable is lowercase and any proceeding words within the variable have the first letter in capital letters:

  • targetPosition
  • aimDirection
  • turnSpeed

PascalCase

PascalCase is just like camelCase except the first letter is capitalized:

  • CameraController
  • PoolingManager
  • UnityEngine

Ok, when should we use them neatly when programming in Unity? Well, let’s take a look at this typical script in Unity.

We will notice that the class name is in PascalCase case. That means classes in C# are typically written using PascalCase, we will also notice that Start and Update functions are also capitalized. So we can say methods are written using PascalCase as well.

Next, Lets’s focus on the ExampleFunction

We can see the class type of the parameter (ExampleClass )is remain PascalCase , but the parameter ( FirstParameter )itself is camelCase as well as the local variable (exampleVariable ).

If a member variable has the public or protected access type (ExampleMember1 & ExampleMember2), it is typically using PascalCase . However, private member variables (_exampleMember3)are denoted by an underscore and the camelCased .

Static variables (ExampleStaticVariable) are always written at the top of the class and in PascalCase.

Interface declaration prefixes a capital I in PascalCase convention and Enums are also written using PascalCase .

Short notes

Codes that use PascalCase convention:

  • ClassNames
  • Methods & Functions
  • PublicMemberVariables
  • ProtectedMemberVariables
  • IInterfaces
  • Enums

Codes that use camelCased convention:

  • _privateMemberVariables
  • methodVariables & functionVariables
  • parameters & arguments