Software Programming Style
A Software Programming Style is a set of conventions that governs the writing and formatting of source code in a programming language.
- Context:
- It can (typically) include File Organization Guidelines, Code Formating Guidelines, Code Comment Guidelines, Code Declaration Guidelines, Naming Convention Guidelines, and Programming Practice Guidelines.
- It can (often) be specific to a Programming Language-Specific Coding Style.
- It can (often) be enforced manually by Code Reviews or automatically using Code Analysis Tools.
- It can range from being an Organization-Specific Condting Style to being a Personal Coding Style.
- It can range from being a Dated Coding Style (e.g. minimalist, compact) to being a Modern Coding Style (readable, maintainable).
- ...
- Example(s):
- an Organization-Specific Condting Style, such as:
- Google's Java Style Guide, which provides conventions for writing Java code at Google.
- PEP 8, which is the style guide for Python code in the Python community.
- Microsoft's C# Coding Conventions, which are guidelines for writing C# code using Microsoft's .NET framework.
- ...
- a Personal Coding Style, such as:
- Donald Knuth's, known for his precise and rigorous approach to coding and documentation.
- Linus Torvalds's, known for emphasizing efficiency and performance in code.
- Guido van Rossum, known for advocating for readability and simplicity in coding.
- Brian Kernighan's and Dennis Ritchie's, who emphasized clarity and economy of expression in their code.
- Martin Fowler's, known for emphasizing design patterns, enterprise patterns, and agile software development practices.
- ...
- an Organization-Specific Condting Style, such as:
- Counter-Example(s):
- A Programming Paradigm, such as Object-Oriented Programming or Functional Programming.
- A Software Design Pattern, such as the Singleton pattern or Observer pattern.
- See: Code Quality, Programming Language, Software Documentation, Software Maintenance, Legacy System, Software Innovation
References
2024
- (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_style Retrieved:2024-2-9.
- Programming style, also known as code style, is a set of rules or guidelines used when writing the source code for a computer program. It is often claimed that following a particular programming style will help programmers read and understand source code conforming to the style, and help to avoid introducing errors.
A classic work on the subject was The Elements of Programming Style, written in the 1970s, and illustrated with examples from the Fortran and PL/I languages prevalent at the time.
The programming style used in a particular program may be derived from the coding conventions of a company or other computing organization, as well as the preferences of the author of the code. Programming styles are often designed for a specific programming language (or language family): style considered good in C source code may not be appropriate for BASIC source code, etc. However, some rules are commonly applied to many languages.
- Programming style, also known as code style, is a set of rules or guidelines used when writing the source code for a computer program. It is often claimed that following a particular programming style will help programmers read and understand source code conforming to the style, and help to avoid introducing errors.