0. Formatting
a. Use tabs for indentation!
- tab stops are every 4 characters.
- One indentation level -> exactly one byte (i.e. a tab character) in the source file.
b. Line widths:
- Don't worry about having lines of code > 80-char wide.
- Lines of comments should be formatted according to ease of viewing, but simplicity is to be prefered over beauty.
c. Don't use braces for condition-body one-liners.
d. Never place condition bodies on same line as condition.
e. Space between first paren and keyword, but *not* following first paren or preceeding final paren.
f. No spaces when fewer than intra-expression three parens together; when three or more, space according to clarity.
g. No spaces for subscripting.
h. No space before ':' but one after it, except in the ternary operator: one on both sides.
i. Space all other operators.
j. Braces, when used, always have their own lines and are at same indentation level as "parent" scope.
(WRONG)
if( a==b[ i ] ) { printf ("Hello\n"); }
(RIGHT)
if (a == b[i])
printf("Hello\n"); // NOTE spaces used instead of tab here for clarify - first byte should be '\t'.
1. Namespaces;
a. No "using namespace" declarations in header files.
b. All symbols should be declared in a namespace except for final applications.
c. Preprocessor symbols should be prefixed with the namespace in all-caps and an underscore.
(WRONG)
#include <cassert>
using namespace std;
tuple<float, float> meanAndSigma(vector<float> const& _v);
(CORRECT)
#include <cassert>
std::tuple<float, float> meanAndSigma(std::vector<float> const& _v);
2. Preprocessor;
a. File comment is always at top, and includes:
- Original author, date.
- Later maintainers (not contributors - they can be seen through VCS log).
- Copyright.
- License (e.g. see COPYING).
b. Never use #ifdef/#define/#endif file guards. Prefer #pragma once as first line below file comment.
c. Prefer static const variable to value macros.
d. Prefer inline constexpr functions to function macros.
e. Split complex macro on multiple lines with '\'.
3. Capitalization;
a. Use camelCase for splitting words in names, except where obviously extending STL/boost functionality in which case follow those naming conventions.
b. The following entities' first alpha is upper case:
- Type names.
- Template parameters.
- Enum members.
- static const variables that form an external API.
c. All preprocessor symbols (macros, macro argments) in full uppercase with underscore word separation.
All other entities' first alpha is lower case.
4. Variable prefixes:
a. Leading underscore "_" to parameter names (both normal and template).
- Exception: "o_parameterName" when it is used exclusively for output. See 6(f).
- Exception: "io_parameterName" when it is used for both input and output. See 6(f).
b. Leading "c_" to const variables (unless part of an external API).
c. Leading "g_" to global (non-const) variables.
d. Leading "s_" to static (non-const, non-global) variables.
5. Error reporting:
- Prefer exception to bool/int return type.
6. Declarations:
a. {Typename} + {qualifiers} + {name}.
b. Only one per line.
c. Associate */& with type, not variable (at ends with parser, but more readable, and safe if in conjunction with (b)).
d. Favour declarations close to use; don't habitually declare at top of scope ala C.
e. Always pass non-trivial parameters with a const& suffix.
f. If a function returns multiple values, use std::tuple (std::pair acceptable). Prefer not using */& arguments, except where efficiency requires.
g. Never use a macro where adequate non-preprocessor C++ can be written.
h. Prefer "using NewType = OldType" to "typedef OldType NewType".
i. Make use of auto whenever type is clear or unimportant:
- Always avoid doubly-stating the type.
- Use to avoid vast and unimportant type declarations
(WRONG)
const double d = 0;
int i, j;
char *s;
float meanAndSigma(std::vector<float> _v, float* _sigma);
Derived* x(dynamic_cast<Derived*>(base));
for (map<ComplexTypeOne, ComplexTypeTwo>::iterator i = l.begin(); i != l.end(); ++l) {}
(CORRECT)
double const d = 0;
int i;
int j;
char* s;
std::tuple<float, float> meanAndSigma(std::vector<float> const& _v);
auto x = dynamic_cast<Derived*>(base);
for (auto i = x.begin(); i != x.end(); ++i) {}
7. Structs & classes
a. Structs to be used when all members public and no virtual functions.
b. Classes to be used in all other circumstances.
8. Members:
a. One member per line only.
b. Private, non-static, non-const fields prefixed with m_.
c. Avoid public fields, except in structs.
d. Use override, final and const judiciously.
e. No implementations with the class declaration, except:
- template or force-inline method (though prefer implementation at bottom of header file).
- one-line implementation (in which case include it in same line as declaration).
f. For a property 'foo'
- Member: m_foo;
- Getter: foo() [ also: for booleans, isFoo() ];
- Setter: setFoo();
9. Naming
a. Collection conventions:
- -s means std::vector e.g. using MyTypes = std::vector<MyType>
- -Set means std::set e.g. using MyTypeSet = std::set<MyType>
- -Hash means std::unordered_set e.g. using MyTypeHash = std::unordered_set<MyType>
b. Class conventions:
- -Face means the interface of some shared concept. (e.g. FooFace might be a pure virtual class.)
c. Avoid unpronouncable names;
- If you need to shorten a name favour a pronouncable slice of the original to a scatterred set of consonants.
- e.g. Manager shortens to Man rather than Mgr.
d. Avoid prefixes of initials (e.g. DON'T use IMyInterface, CMyImplementation)
e. A dictionary and thesaurus are your friends.
- Spell correctly.
- Find short, memorable & (at least semi-) descriptive names for commonly used classes or name-fragments.
10. Type-definitions
a. Prefer using to typedef. e.g. using ints = std::vector<int>; rather than typedef std::vector<int> ints;
b. Generally avoid shortening a standard form that already includes all important information:
- e.g. stick to shared_ptr<X> rather than shortening to ptr<X>.
c. Where there are exceptions to this (due to excessive use and clear meaning), note the change prominently and use it consistently.
- e.g. using Guard = boost::lock_guard<std::mutex>; ///< Guard is used throughout the codebase since it's clear in meaning and used commonly.
d. In general expressions should be roughly as important/semantically meaningful as the space they occupy.
11. Commenting
a. Comments should be doxygen-compilable, using @notation rather than \notation.
12. Include Headers
a. Includes should go in order of lower level (STL -> boost -> libdevcore -> libdevcrypto -> libethcore -> libethereum) to higher level. Lower levels are basically dependencies to the higher levels. For example:
#include <string>
#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
#include <libdevcore/Common.h>
#include <libdevcore/CommonData.h>
#include <libdevcore/Exceptions.h>
#include <libdevcore/Log.h>
#include <libdevcrypto/SHA3.h>
#include <libethereum/Defaults.h>
b. The only exception to the above rule is the top of a .cpp file where its corresponding header should be located.
