Adding to the System namespace in C#

Question

Would it be acceptable for some very generic utilities or classes to be added in the System namespace?

I'm thinking of really basic stuff like a generic EventArgs (EventArgs<T>),

Use case: would be shared in a company's core library (so that it can be recompiled in a new project as-is, without changing the namespace);

Answer 1

Not acceptable.

Could you? Yes, but System namespace is for framework base stuff. Even Microsoft does not put their own stuff into the System namespace (for example: such as C# compiler APIs or Registry).

System namespace is shared between Microsoft .NET, Mono, and DotGNU.

I would recommend using your company name, and then put the basic stuff in that namespace.

Answer 2

No, no, no. What would you do if the next .NET release contains a class with the same name? You are screwed as you would have to go through all of your files that include that class and rename all instances. You never add to a library to which you have no control. The easiest solution is to reverse the company URL. For example, if your company site is fred.com, create your classes in com.fred. It's pretty common to follow this naming convention.

Answer 3

Microsoft have created a set of guidelines for namespace conventions.

This link is here: Microsoft Namespace Naming Guidelines.