Different Types of Software Design Principles

Software Design Principles

Software Design Principles are C# recommendations that help you write code that is clear, manageable, and scalable. These principles give a foundation for developing software systems that are both robust and responsive to change.

In this C# tutorial, we'll look at the fundamental Software Design Principles, including their definitions, applications, and examples. By following these guidelines, you may enhance code quality and make your projects more manageable. Let's start with an overview of "Software Design Principles in C#."

What are Software design principles?

• Software design principles are essential recommendations that assist C# developers in writing effective and maintainable code.
• They incorporate ideas such as SOLID (Single Responsibility, Open/Closed, Liskov Substitution, Interface Separation, and Dependency Inversion) to ensure that code is modular, adaptable, and easy to understand.
• Adhering to these standards increases code quality and makes change management more effortless.

Software Design Principles

Software design principles are a set of criteria that assist developers in creating good system designs. The most crucial premise is the SOLID one. The many kinds of software design principles are as follows:

1. SOLID

It is a combination of five basic designing principles.

1. Single Responsibility Principle (SRP)

   • This principle states that there should never be more than one reason for a class to change.
   • This means that you should design your classes in such a way that each class should have a single purpose.

   Example - An Account class is responsible for managing Current and Savings Accounts, but current and Savings Account classes would be responsible for managing current and savings accounts, respectively. Hence, both are responsible for a single purpose only. Therefore, we are moving towards specialization.

2. Open/Closed Principle (OCP)

   • This principle states that software entities (classes, modules, functions, etc.) should be open for extension but closed for modification.
   • The "closed" part of the rule states that once a module has been developed and tested, the code should only be changed to correct bugs. The "open" part says that you should be able to extend existing code to introduce new functionality.

   Example - A PaymentGateway base class contains all basic payment-related properties and methods. It can be extended by different PaymentGateway classes for different payment gateway vendors to achieve their functionalities. Hence, it is open for extension but closed for modification.

3. Liscov Substitution Principle (LSP)

   This principle states that functions that use pointers or references to base classes must be able to use objects of derived classes without knowing it.

   Example - Assume that you have an inheritance hierarchy between Person and Student. Wherever you can use Person, you should also be able to use a Student because Student is a subclass of Person.

4. Interface Segregation Principle (ISP)

   • This principle states that Clients should not be forced to depend upon interfaces that they don’t use.
   • This means minimizing the number of members in the interface visible to the dependent class.

   Example - The service interface that is exposed to the client should contain only client-related methods, not all.

5. Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP)

   The Dependency Inversion Principle states that:

   1. High-level modules should not depend upon low-level modules. Both should depend upon abstractions.

   2. Abstractions should not depend upon details. Details should depend upon abstractions.

   It helps us to develop loosely coupled code by ensuring that high-level modules depend on abstractions rather than concrete implementations of lower-level modules. The Dependency Injection pattern is an implementation of this principle

   Example - The Dependency Injection pattern is an implementation of this principle

2. DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself)

• DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) is a fundamental software design approach that aims to reduce code redundancy.
• It underlines the importance of having a single, unambiguous representation of all information or logic within a system.
• The DRY concept helps to eliminate errors by reducing code duplication and consolidating comparable code into reusable functions or components.
• It also simplifies maintenance and makes the codebase more cohesive and manageable.

3. KISS (Keep it simple, Stupid!)

• Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) is a software design guideline that encourages simplicity in code and design.
• It highlights the importance of keeping systems as simple as feasible while avoiding unnecessary complexity and over-engineering.
• The KISS principle encourages improved readability, easier maintenance, and a lower risk of errors, resulting in more resilient and understandable software.

4. YAGNI (You aren't going to need it)

• You Aren't Gonna Need It (YAGNI) is a software design theory that recommends not implementing capability until it is genuinely needed.
• It highlights that developers should avoid adding features or capabilities based on fictional demands or future requirements.
• By following YAGNI, developers can simplify their codebase, prevent over-engineering, and focus on solving existing problems, resulting in more manageable and efficient code.

Summary

C#'s software design principles guide creating code that is clear, manageable, and scalable. Some of the key principles are SOLID (ensuring modular and flexible code), DRY (reducing code redundancy), KISS (keeping designs simple), and YAGNI (avoiding unnecessary features). Adhering to these principles improves code quality, simplifies maintenance, and increases the overall strength of software systems.