Question

I’ve 2 classes. One is a linq-to-sql class and the other is a seriazable data-dump class.

Examples:

Class TableNotes
Id
UserId
NoteText
… functionality

[Serializable]
Class NoteDump
NoteText
… functionality

---

They both would share a common set of functionality. I decide it is best for me not to duplicate this functionality and thus add it to TableNotes only. I will use the NoteDump object only for dumping data.

The question is, I want to covert a NoteDump to a TableNotes. Which class should handle the conversion and why? I.e TableNotes could take a NoteDump or NoteDump could return a new object of type of TableNotes.. or I could use a conversion operator.

Answer 1

Really, the choice is yours. I personally use the “FromXXXX” convention inside the class it will become. In this case, it would be a method on TableNotes:

static TableNotes FromNoteDump(NoteDump noteDump)
{
    // conversion
}

If you need them to convert back and forth (or you think there could be future classes with a similar structure), consider inheriting from a base class or interface.