xamarin/Xamarin.Forms

[Bug] Hyphen/dash in project name breaks it

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#8,539 opened on Nov 17, 2019

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a/templatese/1 :clock1:good first issuehelp wantedinactivet/bug :bug:up-for-grabs

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Description

Description

A project created from a template with an hyphen in its name will not build. After creating a blank project from scratch, the App class name can't be resolved, across namespaces that should be the same. It looks like the "-" is replaced by "_" during project creation in some occurrences but not all.

I would very much have "-" not supported at all with a clear error message.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Create a new Xamarin Forms project, with a name containing an hyphen.
  2. Try to build.

Expected Behavior

Build successful, since the project is fresh and unchanged from the template.

Actual Behavior

Time wasted, because the error message doesn't point to the problem either.

Basic Information

  • Version with issue: 16.3.0.278
  • Last known good version: None. I had this same problem months ago and it caused me to drop my first hobby attempt with Xamarin.
  • IDE: VS Community 2019 16.3.8
  • Reproduction (project fresh from template -- just open and try to build): test-test.zip

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate how Xamarin.Forms project templates handle hyphen characters in project names. Look at template substitution code to see where hyphens are replaced with underscores inconsistently. Consider adding validation to reject hyphens or ensure consistent replacement across all generated files.
Tech stack
csharp
Domain
mobile
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
Half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Mostly clear
Prerequisites
Xamarin.FormsC#
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40