CONTRIBUTING.md

Style guide

This is style guide for RAPP-API contributors.

You should use it for any new code that you would add to this project and try to format existing code to use this style.

Formatting

1. RAPP-API uses the Allman/BSD style of indentation.

2. Indent with spaces, not tabs.

3. Use 4 spaces per indent (unless needed like Makefile).

4. Opening curly bracket is on the following line:

    // ✔:
    struct name
    {
        // code
    };
    
    void func()
    {
        // code
    }
   
    if (...)
    {
        // code
    }
   
    // ✗:
    void func() {
        // code
    }
   

5. Put space after if, while and for before conditions.

    // ✔:
    if () {}
    
   
    // ✗:
    if() {}
   

6. Put spaces before and after operators excluding increment and decrement;

    // ✔:
    int a = 1 + 2 * 3;
    a++;
   
    // ✗:
    int a=1+2*3;
    a ++;
   

7. Never put spaces between function name and parameters list.

    // ✔:
    func(args);
   
    // ✗:
    func (args);
   

8. Never put spaces after ( and before ).

9. Always put space after comma and semicolon.

    // ✔:
    func(arg1, arg2);
   
    for (int i = 0; i < LENGTH; i++) {}
   
    // ✗:
    func(arg1,arg2);
   
    for (int i = 0;i<LENGTH;i++) {}
   

10. Function Declaration parameters should be aligned into new lines

    // ✔:
    func(
            param1,
            param2,
            param3
        );
    
    // ✗:
    func(param1, param2, param3);
    

11. Calling Functions with multiple parameters that would extend the line in width, should be broken into new lines where and when possible:

    // ✔:
    func(param1,
         param2,
         func2(param3, param4),
         param5);
    
    // ✗:
    func(param1, param2, func2(param3, param4), param5);
    

12. Naming class members which are private should follow an underscore: The only excpetion to this rule is struct where the member is public.

    // ✔:
    class foo
    {
    private:
        int var_;
    };
    
    // ✗:
    class foo
    {
    private:
        int var;
    };
    

Documentation

Document your code using Doxygen.

1. Documentation comment should use double star notation or tripple slash:

    // ✔:
    
    /// Some var
    int var;
   
    /**
     * Some func
     */
    void func();
   

2. Use slash as tag mark:

    // ✔:
    
    /**
     * \param a an integer argument.
     * \param s a constant character pointer.
     * \return The results
     */
    int foo(int a, const char *s);
   

Naming

All names in code should be small_snake_case. No Hungarian notation is used. Classes and structs names should not have capital letters. Use namespaces (in C++) and class modules (in Node.JS).

Directory Hierarchy

1. Use a class directory for each class file. For example, class foo should be in foo/foo.hpp.

2. Use the same name for both definition headers and implementation files. Do not break up the definition and implementation files into different locations.

   foo/foo.hpp foo/foo.cpp

3. Use only internal headers (.ihh) for including files.

   foo/includes.ihh

4. Only include what is absolutely necessary, minimising dependencies.

5. Do not polute the namespace or class definitions with various #include/require, put all of them within your internal include header (includes.ihh/includes.js).