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6 <title>A Few Coding Standards</title>
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Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +00009
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000010<div class="doc_title">
11 A Few Coding Standards
12</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000013
14<ol>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000015 <li><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></li>
Chris Lattner85014f42001-07-23 20:40:41 +000016 <li><a href="#mechanicalissues">Mechanical Source Issues</a>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000017 <ol>
18 <li><a href="#sourceformating">Source Code Formatting</a>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000019 <ol>
20 <li><a href="#scf_commenting">Commenting</a></li>
21 <li><a href="#scf_commentformat">Comment Formatting</a></li>
22 <li><a href="#scf_includes">#include Style</a></li>
23 <li><a href="#scf_codewidth">Source Code Width</a></li>
24 <li><a href="#scf_spacestabs">Use Spaces Instead of Tabs</a></li>
25 <li><a href="#scf_indentation">Indent Code Consistently</a></li>
26 </ol></li>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000027 <li><a href="#compilerissues">Compiler Issues</a>
28 <ol>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000029 <li><a href="#ci_warningerrors">Treat Compiler Warnings Like
30 Errors</a></li>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000031 <li><a href="#ci_portable_code">Write Portable Code</a></li>
Reid Spencerbf6439f2004-09-23 16:03:48 +000032 <li><a href="#ci_class_struct">Use of class/struct Keywords</a></li>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000033 </ol></li>
34 </ol></li>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000035 <li><a href="#styleissues">Style Issues</a>
36 <ol>
37 <li><a href="#macro">The High Level Issues</a>
38 <ol>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000039 <li><a href="#hl_module">A Public Header File <b>is</b> a
40 Module</a></li>
41 <li><a href="#hl_dontinclude">#include as Little as Possible</a></li>
42 <li><a href="#hl_privateheaders">Keep "internal" Headers
43 Private</a></li>
44 </ol></li>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000045 <li><a href="#micro">The Low Level Issues</a>
46 <ol>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000047 <li><a href="#hl_assert">Assert Liberally</a></li>
48 <li><a href="#hl_preincrement">Prefer Preincrement</a></li>
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +000049 <li><a href="#hl_avoidendl">Avoid std::endl</a></li>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000050 <li><a href="#hl_exploitcpp">Exploit C++ to its Fullest</a></li>
51 </ol></li>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000052 </ol></li>
53 <li><a href="#seealso">See Also</a></li>
54</ol>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000055
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +000056<div class="doc_author">
57 <p>Written by <a href="mailto:sabre@nondot.org">Chris Lattner</a></p>
58</div>
59
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000060
61<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000062<div class="doc_section">
63 <a name="introduction">Introduction</a>
64</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000065<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
66
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000067<div class="doc_text">
68
69<p>This document attempts to describe a few coding standards that are being used
70in the LLVM source tree. Although no coding standards should be regarded as
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +000071absolute requirements to be followed in all instances, coding standards can be
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000072useful.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000073
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000074<p>This document intentionally does not prescribe fixed standards for religious
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +000075issues such as brace placement and space usage. For issues like this, follow
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000076the golden rule:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000077
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000078<blockquote>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000079
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000080<p><b><a name="goldenrule">If you are adding a significant body of source to a
81project, feel free to use whatever style you are most comfortable with. If you
82are extending, enhancing, or bug fixing already implemented code, use the style
83that is already being used so that the source is uniform and easy to
84follow.</a></b></p>
85
86</blockquote>
87
88<p>The ultimate goal of these guidelines is the increase readability and
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +000089maintainability of our common source base. If you have suggestions for topics to
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000090be included, please mail them to <a
91href="mailto:sabre@nondot.org">Chris</a>.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000092
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000093</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000094
95<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +000096<div class="doc_section">
97 <a name="mechanicalissues">Mechanical Source Issues</a>
98</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +000099<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
100
101<!-- ======================================================================= -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000102<div class="doc_subsection">
103 <a name="sourceformating">Source Code Formatting</a>
104</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000105
106<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000107<div class="doc_subsubsection">
108 <a name="scf_commenting">Commenting</a>
109</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000110
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000111<div class="doc_text">
112
113<p>Comments are one critical part of readability and maintainability. Everyone
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000114knows they should comment, so should you. :) Although we all should probably
115comment our code more than we do, there are a few very critical places that
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000116documentation is very useful:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000117
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000118<b>File Headers</b>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000119
120<p>Every source file should have a header on it that
121describes the basic purpose of the file. If a file does not have a header, it
122should not be checked into CVS. Most source trees will probably have a standard
123file header format. The standard format for the LLVM source tree looks like
124this:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000125
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000126<div class="doc_code">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000127<pre>
Chris Lattnere6f4e072003-10-13 14:58:11 +0000128//===-- llvm/Instruction.h - Instruction class definition -------*- C++ -*-===//
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000129//
130// The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure
131//
132// This file was developed by the LLVM research group and is distributed under
133// the University of Illinois Open Source License. See LICENSE.TXT for details.
134//
135//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000136//
137// This file contains the declaration of the Instruction class, which is the
138// base class for all of the VM instructions.
139//
140//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
141</pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000142</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000143
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000144<p>A few things to note about this particular format: The "<tt>-*- C++
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000145-*-</tt>" string on the first line is there to tell Emacs that the source file
Misha Brukman0d640e82004-07-28 22:37:57 +0000146is a C++ file, not a C file (Emacs assumes .h files are C files by default).
147Note that this tag is not necessary in .cpp files. The name of the file is also
148on the first line, along with a very short description of the purpose of the
149file. This is important when printing out code and flipping though lots of
150pages.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000151
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000152<p>The next section in the file is a concise note that defines the license that
153the file is released under. This makes it perfectly clear what terms the source
154code can be distributed under.</p>
155
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000156<p>The main body of the description does not have to be very long in most cases.
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000157Here it's only two lines. If an algorithm is being implemented or something
158tricky is going on, a reference to the paper where it is published should be
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000159included, as well as any notes or "gotchas" in the code to watch out for.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000160
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000161<b>Class overviews</b>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000162
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000163<p>Classes are one fundemental part of a good object oriented design. As such,
164a class definition should have a comment block that explains what the class is
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000165used for... if it's not obvious. If it's so completely obvious your grandma
166could figure it out, it's probably safe to leave it out. Naming classes
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000167something sane goes a long ways towards avoiding writing documentation. :)</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000168
169
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000170<b>Method information</b>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000171
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000172<p>Methods defined in a class (as well as any global functions) should also be
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000173documented properly. A quick note about what it does any a description of the
174borderline behaviour is all that is necessary here (unless something
175particularly tricky or insideous is going on). The hope is that people can
176figure out how to use your interfaces without reading the code itself... that is
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000177the goal metric.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000178
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000179<p>Good things to talk about here are what happens when something unexpected
180happens: does the method return null? Abort? Format your hard disk?</p>
181
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000182</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000183
184<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000185<div class="doc_subsubsection">
186 <a name="scf_commentformat">Comment Formatting</a>
187</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000188
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000189<div class="doc_text">
190
191<p>In general, prefer C++ style (<tt>//</tt>) comments. They take less space,
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000192require less typing, don't have nesting problems, etc. There are a few cases
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000193when it is useful to use C style (<tt>/* */</tt>) comments however:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000194
195<ol>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000196 <li>When writing a C code: Obviously if you are writing C code, use C style
197 comments. :)</li>
198 <li>When writing a header file that may be #included by a C source file.</li>
199 <li>When writing a source file that is used by a tool that only accepts C
200 style comments.</li>
201</ol>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000202
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000203<p>To comment out a large block of code, use <tt>#if 0</tt> and <tt>#endif</tt>.
204These nest properly and are better behaved in general than C style comments.</p>
205
206</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000207
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000208<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000209<div class="doc_subsubsection">
210 <a name="scf_includes">#include Style</a>
211</div>
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000212
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000213<div class="doc_text">
214
215<p>Immediately after the <a href="#scf_commenting">header file comment</a> (and
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000216include guards if working on a header file), the <a
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000217href="#hl_dontinclude">minimal</a> list of <tt>#include</tt>s required by the
218file should be listed. We prefer these <tt>#include</tt>s to be listed in this
219order:</p>
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000220
221<ol>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000222 <li><a href="#mmheader">Main Module header</a></li>
223 <li><a href="#hl_privateheaders">Local/Private Headers</a></li>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000224 <li><tt>llvm/*</tt></li>
225 <li><tt>llvm/Analysis/*</tt></li>
226 <li><tt>llvm/Assembly/*</tt></li>
227 <li><tt>llvm/Bytecode/*</tt></li>
228 <li><tt>llvm/CodeGen/*</tt></li>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000229 <li>...</li>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000230 <li><tt>Support/*</tt></li>
231 <li><tt>Config/*</tt></li>
232 <li>System <tt>#includes</tt></li>
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000233</ol>
234
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000235<p>... and each catagory should be sorted by name.</p>
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000236
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000237<p><a name="mmheader">The "Main Module Header"</a> file applies to .cpp file
238which implement an interface defined by a .h file. This #include should always
239be included <b>first</b> regardless of where it lives on the file system. By
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000240including a header file first in the .cpp files that implement the interfaces,
241we ensure that the header does not have any hidden dependencies which are not
242explicitly #included in the header, but should be. It is also a form of
243documentation in the .cpp file to indicate where the interfaces it implements
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000244are defined.</p>
Chris Lattner245b5252003-08-07 21:45:47 +0000245
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000246</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000247
248<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000249<div class="doc_subsubsection">
250 <a name="scf_codewidth">Source Code Width</a>
251</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000252
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000253<div class="doc_text">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000254
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000255<p>Write your code to fit within 80 columns of text. This helps those of us who
256like to print out code and look at your code in an xterm without resizing
257it.</p>
258
259</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000260
261<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000262<div class="doc_subsubsection">
263 <a name="scf_spacestabs">Use Spaces Instead of Tabs</a>
264</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000265
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000266<div class="doc_text">
267
268<p>In all cases, prefer spaces to tabs in source files. People have different
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000269prefered indentation levels, and different styles of indentation that they
270like... this is fine. What isn't is that different editors/viewers expand tabs
271out to different tab stops. This can cause your code to look completely
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000272unreadable, and it is not worth dealing with.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000273
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000274<p>As always, follow the <a href="#goldenrule">Golden Rule</a> above: follow the
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000275style of existing code if your are modifying and extending it. If you like four
276spaces of indentation, <b>DO NOT</b> do that in the middle of a chunk of code
277with two spaces of indentation. Also, do not reindent a whole source file: it
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000278makes for incredible diffs that are absolutely worthless.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000279
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000280</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000281
282<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000283<div class="doc_subsubsection">
284 <a name="scf_indentation">Indent Code Consistently</a>
285</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000286
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000287<div class="doc_text">
288
289<p>Okay, your first year of programming you were told that indentation is
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000290important. If you didn't believe and internalize this then, now is the time.
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000291Just do it.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000292
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000293</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000294
295
296<!-- ======================================================================= -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000297<div class="doc_subsection">
298 <a name="compilerissues">Compiler Issues</a>
299</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000300
301
302<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000303<div class="doc_subsubsection">
304 <a name="ci_warningerrors">Treat Compiler Warnings Like Errors</a>
305</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000306
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000307<div class="doc_text">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000308
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000309<p>If your code has compiler warnings in it, something is wrong: you aren't
310casting values correctly, your have "questionable" constructs in your code, or
311you are doing something legitimately wrong. Compiler warnings can cover up
312legitimate errors in output and make dealing with a translation unit
313difficult.</p>
314
315<p>It is not possible to prevent all warnings from all compilers, nor is it
Misha Brukman0cedb1f2003-10-06 19:26:00 +0000316desirable. Instead, pick a standard compiler (like <tt>gcc</tt>) that provides
317a good thorough set of warnings, and stick to them. At least in the case of
318<tt>gcc</tt>, it is possible to work around any spurious errors by changing the
319syntax of the code slightly. For example, an warning that annoys me occurs when
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000320I write code like this:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000321
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000322<div class="doc_code">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000323<pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000324if (V = getValue()) {
325 ...
326}
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000327</pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000328</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000329
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000330<p><tt>gcc</tt> will warn me that I probably want to use the <tt>==</tt>
331operator, and that I probably mistyped it. In most cases, I haven't, and I
332really don't want the spurious errors. To fix this particular problem, I
333rewrite the code like this:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000334
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000335<div class="doc_code">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000336<pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000337if ((V = getValue())) {
338 ...
339}
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000340</pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000341</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000342
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000343<p>...which shuts <tt>gcc</tt> up. Any <tt>gcc</tt> warning that annoys you can
344be fixed by massaging the code appropriately.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000345
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000346<p>These are the <tt>gcc</tt> warnings that I prefer to enable: <tt>-Wall
347-Winline -W -Wwrite-strings -Wno-unused</tt></p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000348
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000349</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000350
351<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000352<div class="doc_subsubsection">
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000353 <a name="ci_portable_code">Write Portable Code</a>
354</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000355
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000356<div class="doc_text">
357
358<p>In almost all cases, it is possible and within reason to write completely
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000359portable code. If there are cases where it isn't possible to write portable
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000360code, isolate it behind a well defined (and well documented) interface.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000361
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000362<p>In practice, this means that you shouldn't assume much about the host
363compiler, including its support for "high tech" features like partial
364specialization of templates. In fact, Visual C++ 6 could be an important target
365for our work in the future, and we don't want to have to rewrite all of our code
366to support it.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000367
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000368</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000369
Reid Spencerbf6439f2004-09-23 16:03:48 +0000370<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
371<div class="doc_subsubsection">
372<a name="ci_class_struct">Use of <tt>class</tt> and <tt>struct</tt> Keywords</a>
373</div>
374<div class="doc_text">
375 <p>In C++ the <tt>class</tt> and <tt>struct</tt> keywoards can be used almost
376 interchangeably. The only difference is when they are used to declare a class:
377 <tt>class</tt> makes all members private by default while <tt>struct</tt>
378 makes all members public by defaut.<p>
379 <p>Unfortunately, not all compilers follow the rules and some will generate
380 different symbols based on whether <tt>class</tt> or <tt>struct</tt> was used
381 to declare the symbol. This can lead to problems at link time.</p>
382 <p>So, the rule for LLVM is this: "always use the <tt>class</tt> keyword,
383 unless <b>all</b> members are public in which case <tt>struct</tt> is
384 allowed.</p>
385</div>
386
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000387<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000388<div class="doc_section">
389 <a name="styleissues">Style Issues</a>
390</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000391<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
392
393
394<!-- ======================================================================= -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000395<div class="doc_subsection">
396 <a name="macro">The High Level Issues</a>
397</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000398
399
400<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000401<div class="doc_subsubsection">
402 <a name="hl_module">A Public Header File <b>is</b> a Module</a>
403</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000404
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000405<div class="doc_text">
406
407<p>C++ doesn't do too well in the modularity department. There is no real
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000408encapsulation or data hiding (unless you use expensive protocol classes), but it
409is what we have to work with. When you write a public header file (in the LLVM
410source tree, they live in the top level "include" directory), you are defining a
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000411module of functionality.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000412
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000413<p>Ideally, modules should be completely independent of each other, and their
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000414header files should only include the absolute minimum number of headers
415possible. A module is not just a class, a function, or a namespace: <a
416href="http://www.cuj.com/articles/2000/0002/0002c/0002c.htm">it's a collection
417of these</a> that defines an interface. This interface may be several
418functions, classes or data structures, but the important issue is how they work
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000419together.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000420
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000421<p>In general, a module should be implemented with one or more <tt>.cpp</tt>
422files. Each of these <tt>.cpp</tt> files should include the header that defines
423their interface first. This ensure that all of the dependences of the module
424header have been properly added to the module header itself, and are not
425implicit. System headers should be included after user headers for a
426translation unit.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000427
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000428</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000429
430<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000431<div class="doc_subsubsection">
432 <a name="hl_dontinclude">#include as Little as Possible</a>
433</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000434
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000435<div class="doc_text">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000436
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000437<p><tt>#include</tt> hurts compile time performance. Don't do it unless you
438have to, especially in header files.</p>
439
440<p>But wait, sometimes you need to have the definition of a class to use it, or
441to inherit from it. In these cases go ahead and #include that header file. Be
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000442aware however that there are many cases where you don't need to have the full
443definition of a class. If you are using a pointer or reference to a class, you
444don't need the header file. If you are simply returning a class instance from a
445prototyped function or method, you don't need it. In fact, for most cases, you
446simply don't need the definition of a class... and not <tt>#include</tt>'ing
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000447speeds up compilation.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000448
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000449<p>It is easy to try to go too overboard on this recommendation, however. You
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000450<b>must</b> include all of the header files that you are using, either directly
451or indirectly (through another header file). To make sure that you don't
452accidently forget to include a header file in your module header, make sure to
453include your module header <b>first</b> in the implementation file (as mentioned
454above). This way there won't be any hidden dependencies that you'll find out
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000455about later...</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000456
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000457</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000458
459<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000460<div class="doc_subsubsection">
461 <a name="hl_privateheaders">Keep "internal" Headers Private</a>
462</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000463
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000464<div class="doc_text">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000465
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000466<p>Many modules have a complex implementation that causes them to use more than
467one implementation (<tt>.cpp</tt>) file. It is often tempting to put the
468internal communication interface (helper classes, extra functions, etc) in the
469public module header file. Don't do this. :)</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000470
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000471<p>If you really need to do something like this, put a private header file in
472the same directory as the source files, and include it locally. This ensures
473that your private interface remains private and undisturbed by outsiders.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000474
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000475<p>Note however, that it's okay to put extra implementation methods a public
476class itself... just make them private (or protected), and all is well.</p>
477
478</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000479
480<!-- ======================================================================= -->
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000481<div class="doc_subsection">
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000482 <a name="micro">The Low Level Issues</a>
483</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000484
485
486<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000487<div class="doc_subsubsection">
488 <a name="hl_assert">Assert Liberally</a>
489</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000490
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000491<div class="doc_text">
492
493<p>Use the "<tt>assert</tt>" function to its fullest. Check all of your
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000494preconditions and assumptions, you never know when a bug (not neccesarily even
495yours) might be caught early by an assertion, which reduces debugging time
496dramatically. The "<tt>&lt;cassert&gt;</tt>" header file is probably already
497included by the header files you are using, so it doesn't cost anything to use
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000498it.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000499
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000500<p>To further assist with debugging, make sure to put some kind of error message
501in the assertion statement (which is printed if the assertion is tripped). This
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000502helps the poor debugging make sense of why an assertion is being made and
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000503enforced, and hopefully what to do about it. Here is one complete example:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000504
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000505<div class="doc_code">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000506<pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000507inline Value *getOperand(unsigned i) {
508 assert(i &lt; Operands.size() &amp;&amp; "getOperand() out of range!");
509 return Operands[i];
510}
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000511</pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000512</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000513
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000514<p>Here are some examples:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000515
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000516<div class="doc_code">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000517<pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000518assert(Ty-&gt;isPointerType() &amp;&amp; "Can't allocate a non pointer type!");
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000519
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000520assert((Opcode == Shl || Opcode == Shr) &amp;&amp; "ShiftInst Opcode invalid!");
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000521
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000522assert(idx &lt; getNumSuccessors() &amp;&amp; "Successor # out of range!");
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000523
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000524assert(V1.getType() == V2.getType() &amp;&amp; "Constant types must be identical!");
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000525
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000526assert(isa&lt;PHINode&gt;(Succ-&gt;front()) &amp;&amp; "Only works on PHId BBs!");
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000527</pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000528</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000529
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000530<p>You get the idea...</p>
531
532</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000533
534
535<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000536<div class="doc_subsubsection">
537 <a name="hl_preincrement">Prefer Preincrement</a>
538</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000539
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000540<div class="doc_text">
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000541
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000542<p>Hard fast rule: Preincrement (<tt>++X</tt>) may be no slower than
543postincrement (<tt>X++</tt>) and could very well be a lot faster than it. Use
544preincrementation whenever possible.</p>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000545
546<p>The semantics of postincrement include making a copy of the value being
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000547incremented, returning it, and then preincrementing the "work value". For
548primitive types, this isn't a big deal... but for iterators, it can be a huge
549issue (for example, some iterators contains stack and set objects in them...
550copying an iterator could invoke the copy ctor's of these as well). In general,
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000551get in the habit of always using preincrement, and you won't have a problem.</p>
552
553</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000554
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000555<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000556<div class="doc_subsubsection">
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000557 <a name="hl_avoidendl">Avoid std::endl</a>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000558</div>
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000559
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000560<div class="doc_text">
561
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000562<p>The <tt>std::endl</tt> modifier, when used with iostreams outputs a newline
563to the output stream specified. In addition to doing this, however, it also
564flushes the output stream. In other words, these are equivalent:</p>
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000565
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000566<div class="doc_code">
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000567<pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000568std::cout &lt;&lt; std::endl;
569std::cout &lt;&lt; '\n' &lt;&lt; std::flush;
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000570</pre>
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000571</div>
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000572
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000573<p>Most of the time, you probably have no reason to flush the output stream, so
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000574it's better to use a literal <tt>'\n'</tt>.</p>
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000575
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000576</div>
Chris Lattner850d4f62002-01-20 19:01:26 +0000577
578<!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000579<div class="doc_subsubsection">
580 <a name="hl_exploitcpp">Exploit C++ to its Fullest</a>
581</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000582
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000583<div class="doc_text">
584
Misha Brukmanb2246152004-07-28 22:31:54 +0000585<p>C++ is a powerful language. With a firm grasp on its capabilities, you can
586make write effective, consise, readable and maintainable code all at the same
587time. By staying consistent, you reduce the amount of special cases that need
588to be remembered. Reducing the total number of lines of code you write is a
589good way to avoid documentation, and avoid giving bugs a place to hide.</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000590
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000591<p>For these reasons, come to know and love the contents of your local
Misha Brukmanc3e78932003-07-28 21:57:18 +0000592&lt;algorithm&gt; header file. Know about &lt;functional&gt; and what it can do
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000593for you. C++ is just a tool that wants you to master it. :)</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000594
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000595</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000596
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000597<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000598<div class="doc_section">
599 <a name="seealso">See Also</a>
600</div>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000601<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
602
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000603<div class="doc_text">
604
605<p>A lot of these comments and recommendations have been culled for other
606sources. Two particularly important books for our work are:</p>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000607
608<ol>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000609
Tanya Lattner8ed32be2004-06-22 04:24:55 +0000610<li><a href="http://www.aw-bc.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0201310155,00.html">Effective
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000611C++</a> by Scott Meyers. There is an online version of the book (only some
612chapters though) <a
Chris Lattner1dab1922004-05-23 21:05:07 +0000613href="http://www.awlonline.com/cseng/meyerscddemo/">available as well</a>. Also
614interesting and useful are "More Effective C++" and "Effective STL" by the same
615author.</li>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000616
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000617<li><a href="http://cseng.aw.com/book/0,3828,0201633620,00.html">Large-Scale C++
618Software Design</a> by John Lakos</li>
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000619
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000620</ol>
621
622<p>If you get some free time, and you haven't read them: do so, you might learn
623something. :)</p>
624
625</div>
626
Chris Lattnerac457c42001-07-09 03:27:08 +0000627<!-- *********************************************************************** -->
628
629<hr>
Misha Brukmand4f290a2004-05-12 18:37:22 +0000630<address>
631 <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/check/referer"><img
632 src="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/images/vcss" alt="Valid CSS!"></a>
633 <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer"><img
634 src="http://www.w3.org/Icons/valid-html401" alt="Valid HTML 4.01!"></a>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000635
Misha Brukmand4f290a2004-05-12 18:37:22 +0000636 <a href="mailto:sabre@nondot.org">Chris Lattner</a><br>
637 <a href="http://llvm.cs.uiuc.edu">LLVM Compiler Infrastructure</a><br>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000638 Last modified: $Date$
Misha Brukmand4f290a2004-05-12 18:37:22 +0000639</address>
Misha Brukmanf196dbb2003-10-24 17:57:33 +0000640
641</body>
642</html>