Contributor Guide

Code Format

We rely on clang-format-4.0 for code format.
Make sure to format your code before you commit, since we have not set up a githook for it.

Scoping

Naming

Variable names should consist of lowercase words connected by underscores, e.g. density_field.
Class and struct names should consist of words with first letters captalized, e.g. MultigridPreconditioner.
Template classes should start with T, like TVector, TMatrix, TArray;
- Reserve the name without T for specialized classes, e.g. using Vector=TVector<real, dim>.
Macros should be capital start with TC, such as TC_INFO, TC_IMPLEMENTATION.
- We do not encourage the use of macro, though there are cases where macros are inevitable.
Filenames should constist of lowercase words connected by underscores, e.g. parallel_reduction.cpp.

File Organization

Put in the projects folder

Object-Oriented Programming

Common Patterns

Casting

We allow the use of old-style C casting e.g. auto t = (int)x;
- Reason: static_cast<type>(variable) is too verbose.
Think twice when you use reinterpret_cast, const_cast.
Discussions on this in Google C++ Style Guide.

Do’s

Be considerate to your users (this includes yourself in the near future).
Use auto for local variables when appropriate.
Mark override and const when necessary.

Dont’s

C language legacies:
- printf (use fmtlib instead).
- new & free. Use smart pointers (std::unique_ptr, std::shared_ptr instead for ownership management).
- Unnecessary dependencies.
Prefix member functions with m_ or _. Modern IDE can highlight members variables for you.
Virtual function call in constructors/destructors.
C++ exceptions
NULL, use nullptr instead.
using namespace std; in headers global scope.
typedef. Use using instead.

Documentation

To build the documentation: ti doc or cd docs && sphinx-build -b html . build.