Code Style

The complete 104 code-style is defined by our clang-format configuration file. If you’d like to experiment with it to get a feel for the rules, try setting up clang-format, writing some code how you would normally, and formatting it to see what changes. If you’re having issues installing clang-format natively, you can always use our Docker image, which provides it out of the box.

Adhering to our style guidelines will greatly benefit you. Maintaining clean and readable code will help us debug and give feedback on your programs. It also enable us to give you more points back while doing code review. Formatting your code is as easy as calling clang-format from the command line, which we’ve included instructions for below.

Style Guide

Below we’ll sum up what we’re expecting your code to look like in a few sections. Note that this is not exhaustive, and that your best bet is to get used to simply use clang-format.

Indentation

Indentation is four spaces and everything should be indented normally. The contents of namespaces should not be indented. Labels, i.e. public, protected, private, and case, should not be indented but their contents should be.

// Good
namespace geometry {

class Polygon {
public:
    std::string describe() {
        switch(this->sides) {
        case 3:
            return "triangle";
        case 4:
            return "square";
        default:
            return "polygon";
        }
    }
private:
    int sides;
};

}

Braces

Curly braces are always required around control statement bodies. In other words, single line if statements, for loops, etc. are not permitted. There should be a space between the keyword and the opening paren. Additionally, the first statement in curly-braced bodies should start on the line after the opening brace.

// Good
if (this->sides < 3) {
    throw invalid_argument("too few sides!");
}

// Bad 
if(this->sides) throw invalid_argument("too few sides!");

The exception to this rule is functions; single-line functions are still acceptable if they are sufficiently clear and concise. For example, the following is still allowed:

// Fine...
bool is_odd(int n) { return n % 2 == 1; }

It’s worth mentioning that we accept both same-line and K&R open brace positioning, but you’ll have to modify the corresponding .clang-format options to enable the latter. If you want to do so, there are comments in the .clang-format file explaining what to change. Regardless of what you choose, we expect that you use it uniformly in all of your code.

// Good
bool is_odd(int n) {
    return n % 2 == 1;
}

// Also good, just be consistent
bool is_odd(int n)
{
    return n % 2 == 1;
}

Naming

While not syntactical style per se, naming is still super important to readability. We ask that you adhere to the following rules:

• Classes should be named using UpperCamelCase
• Constant variables should use UPPER_SNAKE_CASE
• Methods, variables, and parameters should use lower_snake_case
• Class and struct member variables must be either suffixed with _ or be prefixed this-> to disambiguate them from local variables. Whichever you choose, use it solely and consistently throughout your code.

In general, using short variables such as n, i, j, and it for iterators and short functions is fine. However, you should avoid using super short variable names if they serve complex uses. Names should be self-documenting; you should be able to glance at variable and immediately infer what it’s being used for.

Clang Format

clang-format is a utility built on top of the clang tooling that, among other things, visually restructures code based on a set of style guidelines. Based on a collection of settings that may be specified in a .clang-format file, it manages things like spacing, newlines, brackets, and indentation. We have already put a .clang-format file in your homework repository, so any files in or under the root directory will be formatted our ruleset.

You can invoke clang-format from the command line, and it comes installed out of the box on our Docker container. Running the utility within your homework repository is as easy as:

clang-format -i directory/file.cpp

If you want to format multiple files in a directory, you can use wildcard operators:

# Format all .cpp files in directory/
clang-format -i directory/*.cpp

# Format all .cpp and .h/.hpp files in directory/ 
clang-format -i directory/*.{h,hpp,cpp}

Lastly, you can use the double asterisk to recursively glob. This is necessary when you also want to format files in subdirectories.

# Format all .cpp and .h/.hpp files in directory/ and subdirectories
clang-format -i directory/**/*.{h,hpp,cpp}