Wt

Code which contains the namespaces, often very nested, looks like this:

my::library::List<your::library::Class> 

This results in reduced readability.

There are two main solutions to overcome this, the "using directive" and the "using declaration"

The "using" Directive¶

A general using directive can simplify the code:

using namespace my::library;
using namespace your::library;

List<Class>;

This has 2 problems:

1. it can lead to name collisions (e.g. when two libraries have the same class names).

1. it is still not clear where the names (functions, types, classes etc.) belong too.

The "using" Declaration¶

A more specific using declaration can solve this issue:

using my::library::List;
using your::library::Class;

List<Class>;

• The code is compact, readable and clean.
• The information for the location of "List" and "Class" is still available

And additional benefit is, that code libraries can be changed (e.g. for testing) like this:

using my::library::List;
//using your::library::Class;
using my::library::Class;

List<Class>;

Suggestion¶

The suggestion is to have this code guideline (especially for examples):

• use "using declarations" (
  using library::Class) instead of writing library::Class.