Assignment Kit for

Coding Standard

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PSP Fundamentals

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI)

is a federally funded research and development center
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and
operated by Carnegie Mellon University.

This material is approved for public release.

Distribution limited by the Software Engineering Institute to attendees.

Coding Standard June 2010 1 2010 by Carnegie Mellon University

 PSP Fundamentals
Assignment Kit for the Coding Standard
Overview

Topics This assignment kit covers the following topics.

Section See Page

Prerequisites 2
Objectives 2
Coding standard requirements 2
Coding standard example 3
Evaluation criteria and suggestions 6
Coding standard template 7

Prerequisites Prerequisites
Read Chapter 4

Objectives The objectives of the coding standard are to

establish a consistent set of coding practices
provide criteria for judging the quality of the code that you produce
facilitate size counting by ensuring you are consistent about what you put on
each physical line

Coding Produce, document, and submit a completed coding standard that calls for
standard quality coding practices.
requirements
For LOC counting, ensure that a separate physical source line is used for each
logical line of code.
Submit the coding standard with your program 2 assignment package.

Coding Standard June 2010 2 2010 by Carnegie Mellon University

Example coding standard example

Coding standard Pages 5 and 6 of this workbook contain a C++ coding standard example.
example
Notes about the example:
Since it is an example, tailor it to meet your personal needs.
If you have an existing organizational standard, consider using it for the PSP
exercises.

Continued on next page

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 C++ Coding Standard Example

Purpose To guide implementation of C++ programs

Counting - Count each physical line as one LOC.
Standard - Do not count blank lines and comment-only lines.
- Be consistent about what you put on each physical line.
Program Headers Begin all programs with a descriptive header.
Header Format /******************************************************************/
/* Program Assignment: the program number */
/* Name: your name */
/* Date: the date you started developing the program */
/* Description: a short description of the program and what it does */
/******************************************************************/
Contents Provide a summary of the contents
Contents /******************************************************************/
Example /* Contents:
*/
/* Reuse instructions */
/* Modification instructions */
/* Compilation instructions */
/* Includes
*/
/* Class declarations:
*/
/* CData
*/
/* ASet
*/
/* Source code in c:/classes/CData.cpp:
*/
/* CData
*/
/* CData()
*/
/* Empty()
*/
/******************************************************************/
(continued)

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 C++ Coding Standard Example (continued)

Reuse - Describe how the program is used: declaration format, parameter values, types,
Instructions and formats.
- Provide warnings of illegal values, overflow conditions, or other conditions that
could potentially result in improper operation.
Reuse /******************************************************************/
Instruction /* Reuse instructions */
Example /* int PrintLine(char *line_of_character) */
/* Purpose: to print string, line_of_character, on one print line */
/* Limitations: the line length must not exceed LINE_LENGTH */
/* Return 0 if printer not ready to print, else 1 */
/******************************************************************/
Identifiers Use descriptive names for all variables, function names, constants, and other
identifiers. Avoid abbreviations or single-letter variables.
Identifier Int number_of_students; /* This is GOOD */
Example Float: x4, j, ftave; /* This is BAD */
Comments - Document the code so the reader can understand its operation.
- Comments should explain both the purpose and the behavior of the code.
- Comment variable declarations to indicate their purpose.
Good Comment If(record_count > limit) /* have all records been processed? */
Bad Comment If(record_count > limit) /* check if record count exceeds limit */
Major Sections Precede major program sections by a block comment that describes the processing
done in the next section.
Example /******************************************************************/
/* The program section examines the contents of the array grades and calcu- */
/* lates the average class grade.
*/
/******************************************************************/
Blank Spaces - Write programs with sufficient spacing so they do not appear crowded.
- Separate every program construct with at least one space.
Indenting - Indent each brace level from the preceding level.
- Open and close braces should be on lines by themselves and aligned.
Indenting while (miss_distance > threshold)
Example {
success_code = move_robot (target _location);
if (success_code == MOVE_FAILED)
{
printf(The robot move has failed.\n);
}
}
Capitalization - Capitalize all defines.
- Lowercase all other identifiers and reserved words.
- To make them readable, user messages may use mixed case.
Capitalization #define DEFAULT-NUMBER-OF-STUDENTS 15
Examples int class-size = DEFAULT-NUMBER-OF-STUDENTS;

Coding Standard June 2010 5 2010 by Carnegie Mellon University

Evaluation criteria and suggestions

Evaluation Your standard must be

criteria complete
legible

Suggestions Keep your standards simple and short.

Do not hesitate to copy or build on the PSP materials.

Coding Standard June 2010 6 2010 by Carnegie Mellon University

 Coding Standard Template

Purpose To guide the development of programs

Counting - Count each physical line as one LOC.

Standard - Do not count blank lines and comment-only lines.
- Be consistent about what you put on each physical line.
Program Headers Begin all programs with a descriptive header.
Header Format

Contents Provide a summary of the contents.

Contents
Example

Reuse - Describe how the program is used. Provide the declaration format, parameter values
Instructions and types, and parameter limits.
- Provide warnings of illegal values, overflow conditions, or other conditions that could
potentially result in improper operation.
Reuse Example

Identifiers Use descriptive names for all variables, function names, constants, and other identifiers.
Avoid abbreviations or single letter variables.
Identifier Example

(continued)

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 Coding Standard Template (continued)

Comments - Document the code so that the reader can understand its operation.
- Comments should explain both the purpose and behavior of the code.
- Comment variable declarations to indicate their purpose.
Good Comment

Bad Comment

Major Sections Precede major program sections by a block comment that describes the processing that is
done in the next section.
Example

Blank Spaces - Write programs with sufficient spacing so they do not appear crowded.
- Separate every program construct with at least one space.
Indenting - Indent every level of brace from the previous one.
- Open and closing braces should be on lines by themselves and aligned with each
other.
Indenting
Example

Capitalization - Capitalized all defines.

- Lowercase all other identifiers and reserved words.
- Messages being output to the user can be mixed-case so as to make a clean user
presentation.
Capitalization
Example

Coding Standard June 2010 8 2010 by Carnegie Mellon University