16. C++ Coding Standards

Coding standard is very essential for readability and maitainence of programs. And it also greatly inproves the productivity of the programmer. The GNU C++ compiler must enforce coding discipline. The following is suggested - inside class definition:

• All public variables must begin with m like mFooVar. The m stands for member.
• All protected variables must begin with mt, like mtFooVar and methods with t, like tFooNum(). The t stands for protected.
• All private variables must begin with mv, like mvFooVar and methods with v, like vFooLone(). The v stands for private.
• All public, protected and private variables must begin with uppercase after m like F in mFooVar.
• All pointer variables must be prefixed with p, like
  • Public variables mpFooVar and methods like FooNum()
  • Protected variables mtpFooVar and methods with t like tFooNum()
  • Private variables mvpFooVar and methods with v like vFooNum()

In the sample code given below t stands for protected, v stands for private, m stands for member-variable and p stands for pointer.

class SomeFunMuncho
{
        public:
                int     mTempZimboniMacho; // Only temporary variables should be public as per OOP
                float   *mpTempArrayNumbers;
                int     HandleError();
                float   getBonyBox();  // Public accessor as per OOP design
                float   setBonyBox();  // Public accessor as per OOP design
        protected:
                float   mtBonyBox;
                int     *mtpBonyHands;
                char    *tHandsFull();
                int     tGetNumbers();
        private:
                float   mvJustDoIt;
                char    mvFirstName[30];
                int     *mvpTotalValue;
                char    *vSubmitBars();
                int     vGetNumbers();
};

Visit the C++ Coding Standards URLs

• C++ FAQ Lite - Coding standards http://new-brunswick.net/workshop/c++/faq/coding-standards.html
• Rice university coding standard http://www.cs.rice.edu/~dwallach/CPlusPlusStyle.html
• Identifiers to avoid in C++ Programs http://oakroadsystems.com/tech/cppredef.htm
• Coding standards from Possibility http://www.possibility.com/Cpp/CppCodingStandard.html and mirror site
• Coding standards for Java and C++ from Ambysoft http://www.ambysoft.com/javaCodingStandards.html
• Rules and recommendations http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/cml/cstyle/
• Indent and annotate http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/cml/cstyle/indhill-annot.html
• Elemental rules http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/cml/cstyle/Ellemtel-rules.html
• C++ style doc http://www.cs.umd.edu/users/cml/cstyle/Wildfire-C++Style.html
• C++ Coding Standards by Brett Scolcum http://www.skypoint.com/~slocum/prog/cppstds.html
• Logikos C++ Coding Standards http://www.logikos.com/standards/cpp_std.html
• NRad C++ coding standards http://cadswes.colorado.edu/~billo/standards/nrad
• BEJUG C++ coding standards http://www.meurrens.org/ip-Links/java/joodcs/ToddHoff.html

  See also

• For rapid navigation with ctags Vim color text editor
• To improve productivity see C++ Beautifier HOWTO