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detection activity. By definition, only the original author of a piece of code has read the source file before the code is submitted for review. Code that is written using consistent guidelines is easier for other reviewers to understand and assimilate, improving the efficacy of the defect detection
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The management of complexity includes the following basic principle: minimize the amount of code written during the project development. This prevents unnecessary work which prevents unnecessary cost, both upfront and downstream. This is simply because if there is less code, it is less work not only
908:
A convention in one language may be a requirement in another. Language conventions also affect individual source files. Each compiler (or interpreter) used to process source code is unique. The rules a compiler applies to the source creates implicit standards. For example, Python code is much more
783:
Complexity is managed both at the design stage (how the project is architectured) and at the development stage (by having simpler code). If the coding is kept basic and simple then the complexity will be minimised. Very often this is keeping the coding as 'physical' as possible - coding in a manner
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is modified to improve readability or improve its structure. Software is often refactored to bring it into conformance with a team's stated coding standards after its initial release. Any change that does not alter the behavior of the software can be considered refactoring. Common refactoring
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Even for the original author, consistently coded software eases maintainability. There is no guarantee that an individual will remember the precise rationale for why a particular piece of code was written in a certain way long after the code was originally written. Coding conventions can help.
767:
Where coding conventions have been specifically designed to produce high-quality code, and have then been formally adopted, they then become coding standards. Specific styles, irrespective of whether they are commonly adopted, do not automatically produce good quality code.
905:), it became the practice to write the code for a single (public) class in a single file (the 'one class per file' convention). Java has gone one step further - the Java compiler returns an error if it finds more than one public class per file.
880:
All software practitioners must grapple with the problem of organizing and managing a large number of sometimes complex instructions. For all but the smallest software projects, source code (instructions) are partitioned into separate
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consistently indented than, say Perl, because whitespace (indentation) is actually significant to the interpreter. Python does not use the brace syntax Perl uses to delimit functions. Changes in indentation serve as the delimiters.
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of a software project. Conventions may be formalized in a documented set of rules that an entire team or company follows, or may be as informal as the habitual coding practices of an individual. Coding conventions are not enforced by
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Coding conventions allow programmers to have simple scripts or programs whose job is to process source code for some purpose other than compiling it into an executable. It is common practice to count the software size
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has grown consistently since the 1950s. Some of the growth of this class of development tools stems from increased maturity and sophistication of the practitioners themselves (and the modern focus on
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is the most often cited reason for following coding conventions. In the introductory section on code conventions for the Java programming language, Sun
Microsystems offers the following reasoning:
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The reason is that in Tcl, curly braces are not used only to delimit functions as in C or Java. More generally, curly braces are used to group words together into a single argument. In Tcl, the
889:. It was natural for programmers to collect closely related functions (behaviors) in the same file and to collect related files into directories. As software development shifted from purely
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that is very direct and not highly abstract. This produces optimal code that is easy to read and follow. Complexity can also be avoided simply by not using complicated tools for simple jobs.
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The more complex the code is the more likely it is to be buggy, the more difficult the bugs are to find and the more likely there are to be hidden bugs.
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639:, practices, and methods for each aspect of a program written in that language. These conventions usually cover file organization,
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If you ship your source code as a product, you need to make sure it is as well packaged and clean as any other product you create.
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Code conventions improve the readability of the software, allowing engineers to understand new code more quickly and thoroughly.
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1132:"EditorConfig helps developers define and maintain consistent coding styles between different editors and IDEs"
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Coding conventions simplify writing new software whose job is to process existing software. Use of
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for numerous examples and discussion. Common coding conventions may cover the following areas:
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activities are changing variable names, renaming methods, moving methods or whole classes and
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Consistent coding standards can, in turn, make the measurements more consistent. Special
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plan for regular (or even continuous) refactoring making it an integral part of the team
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1150:"Code Conventions for the Java Programming Language : Why Have Code Conventions"
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103:
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Robert L. Glass: Facts and
Fallacies of Software Engineering; Addison Wesley, 2003.
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987:(because the Tcl also uses the newline character to delimit the end of a command).
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frequently involves reading source code. This type of peer review is primarily a
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improves readability and reduces the time it takes to understand the software.
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Hardly any software is maintained for its whole life by the original author.
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easier. Coding conventions are only applicable to the human maintainers and
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40%–80% of the lifetime cost of a piece of software goes to maintenance.
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834:) to track current project progress or establish a baseline for future
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Code conventions are important to programmers for a number of reasons:
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are highly recommended to follow these guidelines to help improve the
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are often used to process documentation, two notable examples are
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675:, architectural best practices, etc. These are guidelines for
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van Rossum, Guido (2006-09-19). Fred L. Drake, Jr (ed.).
872:), but also from the nature of the languages themselves.
1232:"Python Tutorial : First Steps Towards Programming"
1187:"What is Extreme Programming? : Design Improvement"
1288:"Why can I not start a new line before a brace group"
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There are a large number of coding conventions; see
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to create the application, but also to maintain it.
798:refers to a software maintenance activity where
1206:"C++ Coding Standard : Naming Class Files"
776:Complexity is a factor going against security.
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8:
1234:. Python Software Foundation. Archived from
1068:Comparison of programming languages (syntax)
616:
602:
80:
1088:List of software development philosophies
69:Learn how and when to remove this message
16:Standards and guidelines for writing code
815:Agile software development methodologies
32:This article includes a list of general
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631:are a set of guidelines for a specific
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1083:List of tools for static code analysis
570:Electrical and electronics engineering
1173:"Complexity is the enemy of security"
7:
1286:Staplin, George Peter (2006-07-16).
1152:. Sun Microsystems, Inc. 1999-04-20.
983:is missing its second argument, its
38:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
496:Standards and bodies of knowledge
1273:"Summary of Tcl language syntax"
23:
588:Outline of software development
1:
1189:. XP Magazine. Archived from
1046:Coding standards include the
901:constructs (such as found in
1256:Raymond, Eric (2000-05-01).
1185:Jeffries, Ron (2001-11-08).
819:software development process
677:software structural quality
1323:
952:"$ i squared = "
885:and frequently among many
673:programming rules of thumb
351:Software quality assurance
1204:Hoff, Todd (2007-01-09).
979:. In the example above,
915:
336:Configuration management
1271:Tcl Developer Xchange.
971:takes two arguments, a
772:Reduction of complexity
560:Artificial intelligence
53:more precise citations.
1048:CERT C Coding Standard
1035:Programming principles
891:procedural programming
805:breaking large methods
736:
669:programming principles
484:Infrastructure as code
330:Supporting disciplines
1290:. 'the Tcler's Wiki'.
1219:FIFE coding standards
1113:The Power of 10 Rules
1030:Programming practices
811:) into smaller ones.
718:
712:Reducing the cost of
665:programming practices
341:Deployment management
862:static code analysis
847:source code comments
832:Source lines of code
744:Software peer review
714:software maintenance
708:Software maintenance
693:software maintenance
681:Software programmers
633:programming language
161:Paradigms and models
90:Software development
84:Part of a series on
1073:Hungarian Notation
1056:High Integrity C++
991:Common conventions
893:(such as found in
755:Consistent use of
661:naming conventions
629:Coding conventions
479:Release automation
356:Project management
1098:Programming style
1040:Programming style
836:project estimates
637:programming style
626:
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517:ISO/IEC standards
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1258:"Why Python?"
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1240:. Retrieved
1236:the original
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1199:
1191:the original
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1171:Tom Gillis.
1167:
1158:
1144:
1136:EditorConfig
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1078:Indent style
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1012:Indent style
998:Coding Style
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649:declarations
628:
627:
464:UML Modeling
459:GUI designer
124:Construction
114:Requirements
65:
56:
37:
1307:Source code
1042:conventions
1026:conventions
1020:conventions
1018:Line length
1014:conventions
1008:conventions
887:directories
800:source code
796:Refactoring
791:Refactoring
689:source code
685:readability
657:white space
641:indentation
182:Prototyping
177:Incremental
149:Maintenance
129:Engineering
51:introducing
1242:2014-08-17
1119:References
757:whitespace
653:statements
554:Glossaries
144:Deployment
59:April 2021
34:references
973:condition
809:functions
751:process.
702:compilers
691:and make
687:of their
373:Practices
197:Waterfall
172:Cleanroom
139:Debugging
109:Processes
1301:Category
1062:See also
870:security
645:comments
582:Outlines
512:ISO 9001
454:Profiler
449:Debugger
444:Compiler
419:Stand-up
1052:MISRA C
1006:Comment
975:and an
895:FORTRAN
855:doxygen
851:javadoc
845:within
739:Quality
253:Lean SD
192:V model
134:Testing
47:improve
1024:Naming
985:action
977:action
866:safety
748:defect
527:SWEBOK
248:Kanban
223:DevOps
187:Spiral
119:Design
36:, but
1093:MISRA
981:while
969:while
928:while
883:files
522:PMBOK
437:Tools
298:SEMAT
293:Scrum
167:Agile
966:word
955:incr
949:puts
937:<
868:and
853:and
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807:(or
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532:ITIL
502:CMMI
379:ATDD
288:SAFe
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303:TDD
283:RUP
278:RAD
273:PSP
268:MSF
263:MDD
243:IID
238:FDD
228:DAD
218:ASD
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