>Also, as a general rule, try to avoid creating methods with lots of "ref" or "out" parameters. If you have more than one seriously consider introducing a simple class with the properties you need and return that instead. You'll then find that instead of having 5 local vars that you have to set-up, you just get back one object (and that helps to clean up the code).


I think that yours and Craig's advice(s) are great, the only thing I would say is that, for me, as a general rule, one "out" or "ref" parameters is one too many, is the exception that should scarcely be used, if at all for it means the method is doing at least two things (the other is the return that should be the only one used)