this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2026
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Programming

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What is your preferred import style (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 week ago by programmerlexi@sh.itjust.works to c/programming@programming.dev
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There are a few I'm aware of:

  1. Rust-style use (multiple imports per statement, renaming items using as)
  2. Java-style import (single import per statement, no renaming (afaik))
  3. Zig-style let xlib = @import("xlib") (imports as assignments)
  4. C-style #include (no importing, just pastes the code of the named file)
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[–] nebeker@programming.dev 25 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (19 children)

I think C# handles this pretty well. You include namespaces with whatever granularity you need, down to a single class (or interface or whatever) and can alias them.

using MyProject.Domian.Entities; //the whole module
using Routes = MyProject.Api.Contract.Routes.Http;  //an aliased single class

I bet Java had this too, C# us still mostly Java: Microsoft Edition.

[–] dan@upvote.au 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You also don't have to use imports at all in C# code - you can just reference everything absolutely using the full namespace and class name.

That's a big difference compared to the other languages. C# automatically loads the correct assembly (.NET library) on the first call to something contained within it, whereas languages like Python require an import statement because that's what loads the library. I don't think autoloading is very common - C#, PHP, Ruby and Perl use it, but I can't think of other languages that do.

[–] programmerlexi@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Rust & Java also do this

[–] dan@upvote.au 1 points 1 week ago

Good catch on Java! I've never used rust so I wasn't aware that it also allows this. Good to know!

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