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authorbrettp <brettp@36083f99-b078-4883-b0ff-0f9b5a30f544>2010-06-03 15:28:15 +0000
committerbrettp <brettp@36083f99-b078-4883-b0ff-0f9b5a30f544>2010-06-03 15:28:15 +0000
commitc9b0e80dcfd9b1f1abbb4ffe6223d0c035d3c0a2 (patch)
tree61df4287e111d41a00738f9f84fccf10f11ee7a6
parentd56c072a940ef3084e6d47b45f62767c939cf5b8 (diff)
downloadelgg-c9b0e80dcfd9b1f1abbb4ffe6223d0c035d3c0a2.tar.gz
elgg-c9b0e80dcfd9b1f1abbb4ffe6223d0c035d3c0a2.tar.bz2
Updated CODING.txt with more best practices. Simplified some of the examples.
git-svn-id: http://code.elgg.org/elgg/trunk@6340 36083f99-b078-4883-b0ff-0f9b5a30f544
-rw-r--r--CODING.txt121
1 files changed, 66 insertions, 55 deletions
diff --git a/CODING.txt b/CODING.txt
index 0f194cfb5..b2224627f 100644
--- a/CODING.txt
+++ b/CODING.txt
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@ plugins, and tickets attached to Trac are expected to be in this format.
* Unix line endings
* Hard tabs, 4 character tab spacing.
-* No shortcut tags ( <? or <?= or <% )
-* PHPDoc comments on functions and classes (including methods and declared
- members).
+* No PHP shortcut tags ( <? or <?= or <% )
+* PHPDoc comments on functions and classes (all methods; declared properties
+ when appropriate).
* Mandatory wrapped {}s around any code blocks.
Bad:
- if (true)
- foreach($arr as $elem)
+ if (true)
+ foreach($arr as $elem)
echo $elem;
Good:
@@ -25,66 +25,41 @@ plugins, and tickets attached to Trac are expected to be in this format.
* Name globals and constants in ALL_CAPS (FALSE, TRUE, NULL, ACCESS_FRIENDS,
$CONFIG).
* Space functions like_this($required, $optional = TRUE)
-* Space keywords and constructs like this: if (false) { ... }
-* Include variables in strings with double quotes instead of concatenating:
- Bad:
- echo 'Hello, ' . $name . '! How are you?';
+* Space keywords and constructs like this: if (FALSE) { ... }
+* Correctly use spaces, quotes, and {}s in strings:
+ Bad (hard to read, misuse of quotes and {}s):
+ echo 'Hello, '.$name."! How is your {$time_of_day}?";
Good:
- echo "Hello, $name! How are you?";
+ echo "Hello, $name! How is your $time_of_day?";
* Line lengths should be reasonable. If you are writing lines over 100
- characters, please revise the code.
-* Use slash-style comments. (// and /* */)
-* Preferred no closing ?> tag at EOF. (Avoids problems with trailing
- whitespace, marginal speed improvements.)
-
-
-*** DEPRECATING APIs ***
-
-Occasionally, functions and classes must be deprecated in favor of newer
-replacements. Since 3rd party plugin authors rely on a consistent API,
-backward compatibility must be maintained, but will not be maintained
-indefinitely as plugin authors are expected to properly update their
-plugins. In order to maintain backward compatibility, deprecated APIs will
-follow these guidelines:
-
-* API changes cannot occur between bugfix versions (1.6.0 - 1.6.1).
-* API changes between minor versions (1.6 - 1.7) must maintain backward
- compatibility for at least 2 minor versions. (See procedures, below.)
-* Bugfixes that change the API cannot be included in bugfix versions.
-* API changes between major versions (1.0 - 2.0) can occur without regard to
- backward compatibility.
-
-The procedures for deprecating an API are as follows:
-
-* The first minor version (1.7) with a deprecated API must include a wrapper
- function/class (or otherwise appropriate means) to maintain backward
- compatibility, including any bugs in the original function/class.
- This wrapper function will use elgg_log('...', 'WARNING') to announce
- that the function is deprecated.
-* The second minor version (1.8) maintains the backward compatibility
- wrapper, but in addition to elgg_log(), a register_error() message is also
- thrown.
-* The third minor version (1.9) removes the wrapper function. Any use of
- the deprecated API should be corrected before this.
-
-The general timeline for three minor releases is 8 to 12 months.
+ characters on a line, please revise the code.
+* Use // or /* */ when commenting.
+* No closing PHP tag (?>) at EOF unless after a heredoc. (Avoids problems with
+ trailing whitespace. Required after heredoc by PHP.)
*** CODING BEST PRACTICES ***
The following best practices make code easier to read, easier to maintain,
and easier to debug. Consistent use of these guidelines means less guess
-work for developers.
-
+work for developers, which means happier, more productive developers.
+
+* Adhere to "Don't Repeat Yourself" (DRY) principles of code design and
+ organization. If you are copy-and-pasting code YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG.
+ If you find a block of code that you want to use multiple times, make a
+ function. If you find views that are identical except for a single value,
+ pull it out into a generic view that takes an option.
+* Whitespace is free. Don't be afraid to use it to separate blocks of code.
+ Use a single space to separate function params and string concatenation.
* Use self-documenting variable names. $group_guids is better than $array.
* Functions returning an array should return an empty array instead of FALSE
on no results.
-* If not throwing an exception, boolean FALSE should be returned by functions
- on failure or error.
-* Functions returning only boolean should be prefaced with is_*(). (eg,
- is_logged_in().)
+* FALSE should be returned by functions on failure or error if not throwing an
+ exception.
+* Functions returning only boolean should be prefaced with is_ or has_ (eg,
+ is_logged_in(), has_access_to_entity()).
* Ternary syntax is acceptable for single-line, non-embedded statements.
* Use comments effectively. Good comments describe the "why." Good code
describes the "how." Ex:
@@ -105,9 +80,45 @@ work for developers.
$i++;
}
}
+* Use commit messages effectively. Be concise and meaningful. Ex:
+ Not meaningful:
+ Small fix to groups.
+
+ Meaningful:
+ Fixes #1234: Missing ) was causing WSOD on group profile page when
+ logged out.
+
* Commit effectively: Err on the side of atomic commits. One revision with
many changes is scary.
-* Commit effectively part 2: Use concise, meaningful commit messages. Ex:
- Not meaningful: "Fixed some bugs in groups."
- Meaningful: "Fixes #1234: Missing ) added in group profile page."
+
+*** DEPRECATING APIs ***
+
+Occasionally, functions and classes must be deprecated in favor of newer
+replacements. Since 3rd party plugin authors rely on a consistent API,
+backward compatibility must be maintained, but will not be maintained
+indefinitely as plugin authors are expected to properly update their
+plugins. In order to maintain backward compatibility, deprecated APIs will
+follow these guidelines:
+
+* API changes cannot occur between bugfix versions (1.6.0 - 1.6.1).
+* API changes between minor versions (1.6 - 1.7) must maintain backward
+ compatibility for at least 2 minor versions. (1.7 and 1.8. See
+ procedures, below.)
+* Bugfixes that change the API cannot be included in bugfix versions.
+* API changes between major versions (1.0 - 2.0) can occur without regard to
+ backward compatibility.
+
+The procedures for deprecating an API are as follows:
+
+* The first minor version (1.7) with a deprecated API must include a wrapper
+ function/class (or otherwise appropriate means) to maintain backward
+ compatibility, including any bugs in the original function/class.
+ This wrapper function will elgg_deprecated_notice('...', 1.7) to log
+ that the function is deprecated.
+* The second minor version (1.8) maintains the backward compatibility
+ wrapper, but elgg_deprecated_notice() will produce a visible warning.
+* The third minor version (1.9) removes the wrapper function. Any use of
+ the deprecated API should be corrected before this.
+
+The general timeline for two minor releases is 8 to 12 months.