Re: Reading Code Standard
Martin Gregorie wrote:
subhabangalore wrote:
The suggestions and the solutions given by the learned members of the
group are very nice. Thank you for your kind time.
Now as a new learner of the language, I am trying to consolidate my
learning.
I want to read about good coding standards, and read some good codes in
its various aspects.
I think "The Practice of Programming" by Brian Kernighan and Rob Pike is
well worth having. It describes good approached to naming, program layout
and writing programs so they are easier to debug and maintain. There's
not a lot about Java in it (its main focus is on C) but what it says is
generally applicable to block structured languages: it gives examples in
C, C++, Java, and Perl but its suggestions would be equally applicable to
Python and Pascal.
As mentioned upthread, there are standards specific to Java.
They boil down to:
- Use camel case for identifiers except constant variables.
- Start variable and method names (except constant variables) with a lower-case letter.
- Start type names with an upper-case letter.
- Constant variables are spelled with all upper case, with word parts separated by underscores.
- Do not use underscores for any other identifiers, and do not use the dollar sign "$" in identifiers.
- Indent four spaces (or two) per indent level. DO NOT USE TAB CHARACTERS TO INDENT.
- Enclose all sub-statements (conditional blocks, loop blocks, initializers, ...) in braces.
- Use either K&R brace placement or put the opening brace on its own line aligned with the
control line. (The second approach is unofficial but widely used.)
- Declare static variables (constants first), then static methods, then instance variables, then
instance methods within a type. (Reasonable deviations exist.)
- Use fully descriptive variable names. (Avoid shorthand like 'int s = ...'.)
- Javadoc all elements accessible outside the type.
- Names should reflect algorithmic purpose, not data type.
There's more, but that'll get you started.
--
Lew