STYLE

@@ -1,11 +1,26 @@
 The following guidelines are conducive to clear and readable code that is
 consistent with the style of the rest of the Bonsai Computer System.
 
-0. Braces are mandatory for all control flow.
+0. Use:
+ - a single line for control flow statements short enough to be easily
+understood at a glance:
 
-1. Nested indentation should be kept to a minimum.
+	if !(argc < 0) { usage(program_name); }
 
-2. Empty lines should be placed between different kinds of statements:
+This applies to C switch cases, as well.
+
+	switch (value) { /* aligning stuff to make it easier to read is fine */
+		case possibility: variable = foo;  break;
+		default:          variable = NULL; break;
+	}
+
+ - as little nested logic as possible (within reason).
+ - braces in control flow, when their inclusion is left optional by a
+programming language (in, for example, C).
+
+	if (condition) { statement; }
+
+ - empty lines between different kinds of statements:
 
 	int t;
 
@@ -25,56 +40,66 @@ consistent with the style of the rest of the Bonsai Computer System.
 
 	return io;
 
-3. Each block of code should be indented once more than the keyword which
+ - compiler options that yield the most useful warnings, such as -Wpedantic in
-initiated the block:
+a lot of C compilers. Fix the warnings, too. See [0].
-
+ - fixed bounds for loops; see [0].
-	switch (c) {
+ - one more level of indentation and one line per argument, when a function
-		case 'e': mode |= EQUAL;   break;
+call or statement header is too long to fit on one line:
-		case 'g': mode |= GREATER; break;
-		case 'l': mode |= LESS;    break;
-		default:  return usage(s);
-	}
-
-4. In C, spaces should be placed in control flow statements after the keyword
-and before the opening brace:
-
-	for (i = 2; i < argc; ++i) {
-
-5. If a function, a C control flow statement, or a Rust macro has arguments that
-cause the statement to be broken into multiple lines, this should be done by
-placing the arguments on a new line inside the parentheses: 
 
 	let usage = format!(
 		"Usage: {} [-d delimiter] index command [args...]",
 		argv[0],
 	);
 
-6. If Rust function arguments or fields are on their own lines, they should
+ - one more level of indentation than the keyword that initiated a block.
-always have a trailing comma:
+
+	if (condition) {
+		statement;
+		statement;
+	}
+
+ - the return value of all non-void functions, or explicitly ignore them (like
+casting to void in C):
+
+	if ((a = malloc(sizeof char)) == NULL) {          /* handle this error */
+		(void)fprintf(stderr, "oh noes!");   /* explicitly ignore this one */
+		return EX_OSERR;       /* ...because the program is exiting anyway */
+	}
+
+See [0].
+
+ - the smallest possible scope for data; see [0].
+ - (C) comments noting all the symbols and macros used from a header, next to
+its include macro:
+
+	#include <unistd.h> /* close(2), getopt(3), lseek(2), read(2), write(2),
+	(space-aligned)      * optarg, optind, STDIN_FILENO, STDOUT_FILENO */
+
+ - (C) one more level of indentation within switch cases.
+
+	switch (value) {
+		case possibility:
+			statement;
+		default:
+			statement;
+	}
+
+ - (C) spaces in control flow statements, after the keyword and before the
+opening brace:
+
+	for (i = 2; i < argc; ++i) {
+
+ - (Cpp) as little of the preprocessor as possible; see [0].
+ - (Rust) a trailing comma on all arguments or fields that are on their own
+lines:
 
 	return Err(EvaluationError {
 		message: format!("{}: Invalid token", i),
 		code: EX_DATAERR,
 	})
 
-7. If text is on the same line as a brace, spaces should be placed after an
+ - (Rust) extern statements after use statements that include standard library
-opening curly brace and before a closing one:
+crates. Group like statements:
-
-	use sysexits::{ EX_DATAERR, EX_IOERR, EX_UNAVAILABLE, EX_USAGE };
-
-8. If a control flow statement is short enough to be easily understood in a
-glance, it may be placed on a single line:
-
-	if !(argc < 0) { usage(program_name); }
-
-9. In C, note everything you use from a library in a comment subsequent to its
-#include statement:
-
-	#include <unistd.h> /* close(2), getopt(3), lseek(2), read(2), write(2),
-                         * optarg, optind, STDIN_FILENO, STDOUT_FILENO */
-
-10. In Rust, place extern statements after use statements that include standard
-library crates. Group alike statements:
 
 	use std::fs::Path;
 
@@ -84,40 +109,74 @@ library crates. Group alike statements:
 	use strerror::StrError;
 	use sysexits::{ EX_OSERR, EX_USAGE };
 
-11. Do not use do while loops in C.
+ - (Rust) if text is on the same line as a brace, spaces after an opening curly
+brace and before a closing one:
 
-12. Adhere to the following rules from the paper The Power of 10: Rules for
+	use sysexits::{ EX_DATAERR, EX_IOERR, EX_UNAVAILABLE, EX_USAGE };
-Developing Safety-Critical Code [0]:
-	1. Avoid complex flow constructs, such as goto and recursion.
-	2. All loops must have fixed bounds. This prevents runaway code.
-	3. Avoid heap memory allocation.
-	4. Restrict functions to the length of a single printed page.
 
-	6. Restrict the scope of data to the smallest possible.
+ - (Rust) one more level of indentation within match arms.
-	7. Check the return value of all non-void functions, or cast to void to
-	indicate the return value is useless (such as in the case of using
-	fprintf(3p)	to print to the standard error).
-	8. Use the preprocessor sparingly.
-	9. Limit pointer use to a single dereference, and do not use function
-	pointers.
-	10. Compile with all possible warnings active; all warnings should then be
-	addressed before release of the software (for C compilers, compile with
-	-Wpedantic).
 
-13. Remember this quote from The Elements of Programming Style by Brian
+1. Avoid:
-Kernighan:
+ - function pointers; see [0].
-	Everyone knows that debugging is twice as hard as writing a program in the
+ - heap memory allocation; see [0].
-	first place. So if you're as clever as you can be when you write it, how
+ - too many levels of dereferences; see [0].
-	will you ever debug it?
 
+	/* do not do this */
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < sizeof a / sizeof *a; ++i) {
+		if (a[i].id == MATCH) { a[i].val = 0; }
+	}
+
+	/* do this */
+	for (struct MadeUp *s = &a[0]; *s != NULL; s = &s[1]) {
+		if (s->id == MATCH) { s->val = 0; }
+	}
+
+2. Do not use:
+ - more than the length of one printed page for a function; see [0].
+ - recursion, as it's complex and can unexpectedly overflow the stack; see [0]
+and section 2 of this document.
+ - (C) any language features not in C99.
+ - (C) do-while loops, as they're unique to the language and confusing for
+casual C programmers.
+ - (C) gotos; use sensible flow control, see [0].
+ - (C) pointer arithmetic, as it tends to be confusing and unnecessary; use
+index-reference patterns like &p[1] instead of p + 1. &p[n] is the address at
+p + sizeof p * n, not p + n, like pointer arithmetic suggests.
+ - (C) struct bitfields in unions, to access certain bits of bigger data types,
+as it's poorly defined in the C standards; use bit arithmetic.
+ - (C) trigraphs.
+ - (Cpp) inclusions in C header files, to prevent multiple file inclusions.
+ - (Cpp) variables to prevent multiple inclusions of the same file, such as:
+
+	#ifdef _FILE
+	#define _FILE
+	/* file body */
+	#endif /* ifdef _FILE */
+
+Instead, take the time to ensure other files aren't including the any files
+twice.
+
+ - (libc) any functionality not in the latest POSIX or C99.
+ - (libc) gets(3p) from <stdio.h>, as it's impossible to prevent buffer
+overflows when it's used; use fgets(3p) from <stdio.h>.
+ - (libc) scanf(3p) from <stdio.h>; see [1].
+ - (Make) any functionality not described in make(1p) from the latest POSIX.
+
+2. Keep the following in mind:
+ - Everyone knows that debugging is twice as hard as writing a program in the
+first place. So if you're as clever as you can be when you write it, how will
+you ever debug it?
+	-- Brian Kernighan, in The Elements of Programming Style
 
 References
 ==========
 
 [0] <https://web.eecs.umich.edu/~imarkov/10rules.pdf>
+[1] <http://sekrit.de/webdocs/c/beginners-guide-away-from-scanf.html>
 
 --
 Copyright © 2024 Emma Tebibyte <emma@tebibyte.media>
+Copyright © 2024 DTB <trinity@trinity.moe>
 Copyright © Wikipedia contributors
 
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