WPF/XAML and Clean Code

Question

I miss something similar to the CleanCode book for xaml. How should I structure the XAML?

? All attributes in one line? One attribute per line?

<TextBlock Grid.Column="2"
           Margin="2"
           Text="{Binding TotalCheckedTagCount, FallbackValue=0}" 
           Foreground="Black"
           FontWeight="Bold"
           FontSize="14" 
           HorizontalAlignment="Right"
           />

? Which properties first? The Gridposition? The name? The Binding?

? Should I put the closing xml tag on the same line or on a new one?

<TextBlock
           <!-- .... -->
           />

<TextBlock
           <!-- .... -->  />

and so on... I'd just like to know if there is already an existing guide before I spent time with creating one myself. So far I've had no luck in finding one.

Edit: Two interesting guides provided by mm8:

https://github.com/cmaneu/xaml-coding-guidelines

https://paulstovell.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/xaml-and-wpf-coding-guidelines/

They cover topics like, naming, attribut placment, closing tags, resources handling etc.

If you find your self adding a lot of tags to your elements consider putting them in your `Styles`, use `DataTemplates` `Dictionaries` to minimise the number of elements that you have to add. — XAMlMAX, Jun 30 '17 at 07:46
yeah I do that, but the styles and templates itself are pretty huge too. I just feel like there has to be a guide which makes such big XAMLs more readable. I mean otherwise you just have a huge inherit-structure like google does with their material style. — Hans Vader, Jun 30 '17 at 07:48

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 30 '17 at 07:51

I can just write the experiences I made during the years.

I would put each tag in a new line because it is easier to read, get an overview and easier to merge
I would out the closing tag behind the last tag (just like it that way)
I would put the most important tags at the start. The most important tags for me are the row- or columnindex when using a Gridor the name when I have to use one or the header (e.g. when using a GroupBox).
I would use styles when I have a lot of styling tags like margin, padding, etc.

Maybe this helps you a bit.

definitely thanks, especially the merge point is a good one. Didn't think of it that way before. — Hans Vader, Jun 30 '17 at 08:15

mm8 · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-30T11:56:23.840

2

You could refer to the these inofficial XAML coding guidelines: https://github.com/cmaneu/xaml-coding-guidelines.

The main principles are that your markup should be easy to follow and be as uncontroversial as possible :)

Paul Stovell has listed some as well: https://paulstovell.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/xaml-and-wpf-coding-guidelines/

There aren't any official coding guidlines for XAML markup though.

edited Jun 30 '17 at 11:56

answered Jun 30 '17 at 10:32

mm8

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That's very helpful thank you. Inofficial is better than nothing :) – Hans Vader Jun 30 '17 at 10:59

WPF/XAML and Clean Code

2 Answers2