STYLE: make rules more granular and consistent, add examples #156

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STYLE
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@ -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
initiated the block:
switch (c) {
case 'e': mode |= EQUAL; break;
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:
- compiler options that yield the most useful warnings, such as -Wpedantic in
a lot of C compilers. Fix the warnings, too. See [0].
- fixed bounds for loops; see [0].
- one more level of indentation and one line per argument, when a function
call or statement header is too long to fit on one line:
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
always have a trailing comma:
- one more level of indentation than the keyword that initiated a block.
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].
emma marked this conversation as resolved Outdated

I fear this is impossible; dj(1), for instance, necessarily can't put an upward bound on read cycles.

I fear this is impossible; dj(1), for instance, necessarily can't put an upward bound on read cycles.

Maybe, "where possible"?

Maybe, "where possible"?
- (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
opening curly brace and before a closing one:
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:
- (Rust) extern statements after use statements that include standard library
crates. Group like 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
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.
use sysexits::{ EX_DATAERR, EX_IOERR, EX_UNAVAILABLE, EX_USAGE };
6. Restrict the scope of data to the smallest possible.
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).
- (Rust) one more level of indentation within match arms.
13. Remember this quote from The Elements of Programming Style by Brian
Kernighan:
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?
1. Avoid:
- function pointers; see [0].
- heap memory allocation; see [0].
- too many levels of dereferences; see [0].
trinity marked this conversation as resolved Outdated

I struggled with coming up with this example. Could someone proofread this?

I struggled with coming up with this example. Could someone proofread this?
/* 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>
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