C# share code between classes

Question

In Visual Studio 2008 using C#, what is the best way to share code across multiple classes and source files?

Inheritance is not the solution as the classes already have a meaningful hierarchy.

Is there some neat feature that's like a C include file that let's you insert code anywhere you want in another class?

EDIT:

ok, i guess we need a concrete example...

There are several hundred classes in the domain with a well thought out class heirarchy. Now, many of these classes need to print. There is a utility printer class that handles the printing. Let's say there are 3 different print methods that are dependent on the class that is being printed. The code that calls the print method (6 lines) is what I'm trying to avoid copying and pasting across all the different client class pages.

It'd be nice if people wouldn't assume they knew more about the domain that the op - especially when they specifically mention techniques that don't fit...

Answer 1

If you have functionality that you use frequently in classes that represent very different things, in my experience that should fall into just a few categories:

• Utilities (e.g. string formatting, parsing, ...)
• Cross-cutting concerns (logging, security enforcement, ...)

For utility-type functionality you should consider creating separate classes, and referencing the utility classes where needed in the business class.

public class Validator
{
  public bool IsValidName(string name);
}

class Patient
{
  private Validator validator = new Validator();
  public string FirstName
  {
     set
     {
         if (validator.IsValidName(value)) ... else ...
     }
  }
}

For cross-cutting concerns such as logging or security, I suggest you investigate Aspect-Oriented Programming.

Regarding the PrintA vs. PrintB example discussed in other comments, it sounds like an excellent case for the Factory Pattern. You define an interface e.g. IPrint, classes PrintA and PrintB that both implement IPrint, and assign an instance of IPrint based on what the particular page needs.

// Simplified example to explain:

public interface IPrint 
{ 
   public void Print(string); 
}

public class PrintA : IPrint
{
   public void Print(string input)
   { ... format as desired for A ... }
}

public class PrintB : IPrint
{
   public void Print(string input)
   { ... format as desired for B ... }
}

class MyPage
{
   IPrint printer;

   public class MyPage(bool usePrintA)
   {
      if (usePrintA) printer = new PrintA(); else printer = new PrintB();
   }

   public PrintThePage()
   {
      printer.Print(thePageText);
   }
}

Answer 2

You can't just load in code that you'd like to have added into a class in C# via a preprocessor directive like you would in C.

You could, however, define an interface and declare extension methods for that interface. The interface could then be implemented by your classes, and you can call the extension methods on those classes. E.g.

public interface IShareFunctionality { }

public static class Extensions
{
    public static bool DoSomething(this IShareFunctionality input)
    {
        return input == null;
    }
}

public class MyClass : Object, IShareFunctionality
{
    public void SomeMethod()
    {
        if(this.DoSomething())
            throw new Exception("Impossible!");
    }
}

This would allow you to reuse functionality, but you cannot access the private members of the class like you would be able to if you could, say, hash include a file.

We might need some more concrete examples of what you want to do though?