Should the folders in a solution match the namespace?

Question

Should the folders in a solution match the namespace?

In one of my teams projects, we have a class library that has many sub-folders in the project.

Project Name and Namespace: MyCompany.Project.Section.

Within this project, there are several folders that match the namespace section:

• Folder Vehicles has classes in the MyCompany.Project.Section.Vehicles namespace
• Folder Clothing has classes in theMyCompany.Project.Section.Clothing namespace
• etc.

Inside this same project, is another rogue folder

• Folder BusinessObjects has classes in the MyCompany.Project.Section namespace

There are a few cases like this where folders are made for "organizational convenience".

My question is: What's the standard? In class libraries do the folders usually match the namespace structure or is it a mixed bag?

Answer 1

Also, note that if you use the built-in templates to add classes to a folder, it will by default be put in a namespace that reflects the folder hierarchy.

The classes will be easier to find and that alone should be reasons good enough.

The rules we follow are:

• Project/assembly name is the same as the root namespace, except for the .dll ending
• Only exception to the above rule is a project with a .Core ending, the .Core is stripped off
• Folders equals namespaces
• One type per file (class, struct, enum, delegate, etc.) makes it easy to find the right file