Identical class names in different namespaces

Question

I have two different namespaces, with lots of classes with the same name. I believe some code will make it easier to understand:

namespace Print.Pdl.PostScript.Operators
{
    public abstract class BaseOperator : IOperator
    {
         // ...
    }
}

namespace Print.Pdl.Pcl6.Operators
{
    public abstract class BaseOperator : IOperator
    {
         // ...
    }
}

The basic implementation is the same, as PostScript and PCL have similar constructs. So, both namespaces end up having identical names to several classes.

I am tempted to do the following...

namespace Print.Pdl.PostScript.Operators
{
    public abstract class BasePsOperator : IPsOperator
    {
         // ...
    }
}

namespace Print.Pdl.Pcl6.Operators
{
    public abstract class BasePclOperator : IPclOperator
    {
         // ...
    }
}

... but, IMHO, it kind of defeats the purpose, as there is a redundancy in the identification. Why should I prefix/change the classes names, if the namespace already creates a logical barrier?

So, what you people think? Should I keep the identical names, as they are in different namespaces, or should I prefix/change the classes names to make it easier to identify the source, and avoid conflicts if someone wants to use both namespaces together?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Nolde,

I don't think you should sacrifice the architecture in favor of readability. I believe its more intuitive if you keep the same class names as this makes it simpler if you are switching from PCL to PostScript and vice-versa.

If you have to use both classes in the same code file, create an alias for the namespace. It will be very clear to read:

using Pcl = Print.Pdl.Pcl6.Operators;
using PostScript = Print.Pdl.PostScript.Operators;
...
// use PCL
Pcl.BaseOperator.DoSomething();
// Use PostScript
PostScript.BaseOperator.DoSomething();

Thanks, Luciano Bargmann