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      6   <title>LLVM Coding Standards</title>
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      9 
     10 <h1>
     11   LLVM Coding Standards
     12 </h1>
     13 
     14 <ol>
     15   <li><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></li>
     16   <li><a href="#mechanicalissues">Mechanical Source Issues</a>
     17     <ol>
     18       <li><a href="#sourceformating">Source Code Formatting</a>
     19         <ol>
     20           <li><a href="#scf_commenting">Commenting</a></li>
     21           <li><a href="#scf_commentformat">Comment Formatting</a></li>
     22           <li><a href="#scf_includes"><tt>#include</tt> Style</a></li>
     23           <li><a href="#scf_codewidth">Source Code Width</a></li>
     24           <li><a href="#scf_spacestabs">Use Spaces Instead of Tabs</a></li>
     25           <li><a href="#scf_indentation">Indent Code Consistently</a></li>
     26         </ol></li>
     27       <li><a href="#compilerissues">Compiler Issues</a>
     28         <ol>
     29           <li><a href="#ci_warningerrors">Treat Compiler Warnings Like
     30               Errors</a></li>
     31           <li><a href="#ci_portable_code">Write Portable Code</a></li>
     32           <li><a href="#ci_rtti_exceptions">Do not use RTTI or Exceptions</a></li>
     33           <li><a href="#ci_class_struct">Use of <tt>class</tt>/<tt>struct</tt> Keywords</a></li>
     34         </ol></li>
     35     </ol></li>
     36   <li><a href="#styleissues">Style Issues</a>
     37     <ol>
     38       <li><a href="#macro">The High-Level Issues</a>
     39         <ol>
     40           <li><a href="#hl_module">A Public Header File <b>is</b> a
     41               Module</a></li>
     42           <li><a href="#hl_dontinclude"><tt>#include</tt> as Little as Possible</a></li>
     43           <li><a href="#hl_privateheaders">Keep "internal" Headers
     44               Private</a></li>
     45           <li><a href="#hl_earlyexit">Use Early Exits and <tt>continue</tt> to Simplify
     46               Code</a></li>
     47           <li><a href="#hl_else_after_return">Don't use <tt>else</tt> after a
     48               <tt>return</tt></a></li>
     49           <li><a href="#hl_predicateloops">Turn Predicate Loops into Predicate
     50               Functions</a></li>
     51         </ol></li>
     52       <li><a href="#micro">The Low-Level Issues</a>
     53         <ol>
     54           <li><a href="#ll_naming">Name Types, Functions, Variables, and Enumerators Properly</a></li>
     55           <li><a href="#ll_assert">Assert Liberally</a></li>
     56           <li><a href="#ll_ns_std">Do not use '<tt>using namespace std</tt>'</a></li>
     57           <li><a href="#ll_virtual_anch">Provide a virtual method anchor for
     58               classes in headers</a></li>
     59           <li><a href="#ll_end">Don't evaluate <tt>end()</tt> every time through a
     60               loop</a></li>
     61           <li><a href="#ll_iostream"><tt>#include &lt;iostream&gt;</tt> is
     62               <em>forbidden</em></a></li>
     63           <li><a href="#ll_raw_ostream">Use <tt>raw_ostream</tt></a></li>
     64           <li><a href="#ll_avoidendl">Avoid <tt>std::endl</tt></a></li>
     65         </ol></li>
     66         
     67       <li><a href="#nano">Microscopic Details</a>
     68         <ol>
     69           <li><a href="#micro_spaceparen">Spaces Before Parentheses</a></li>
     70           <li><a href="#micro_preincrement">Prefer Preincrement</a></li>
     71           <li><a href="#micro_namespaceindent">Namespace Indentation</a></li>
     72           <li><a href="#micro_anonns">Anonymous Namespaces</a></li>
     73         </ol></li>
     74 
     75         
     76     </ol></li>
     77   <li><a href="#seealso">See Also</a></li>
     78 </ol>
     79 
     80 <div class="doc_author">
     81   <p>Written by <a href="mailto:sabre (a] nondot.org">Chris Lattner</a></p>
     82 </div>
     83 
     84 
     85 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
     86 <h2>
     87   <a name="introduction">Introduction</a>
     88 </h2>
     89 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
     90 
     91 <div>
     92 
     93 <p>This document attempts to describe a few coding standards that are being used
     94 in the LLVM source tree.  Although no coding standards should be regarded as
     95 absolute requirements to be followed in all instances, coding standards can be
     96 useful.</p>
     97 
     98 <p>This document intentionally does not prescribe fixed standards for religious
     99 issues such as brace placement and space usage.  For issues like this, follow
    100 the golden rule:</p>
    101 
    102 <blockquote>
    103 
    104 <p><b><a name="goldenrule">If you are adding a significant body of source to a
    105 project, feel free to use whatever style you are most comfortable with.  If you
    106 are extending, enhancing, or bug fixing already implemented code, use the style
    107 that is already being used so that the source is uniform and easy to
    108 follow.</a></b></p>
    109 
    110 </blockquote>
    111 
    112 <p>The ultimate goal of these guidelines is the increase readability and
    113 maintainability of our common source base. If you have suggestions for topics to
    114 be included, please mail them to <a
    115 href="mailto:sabre (a] nondot.org">Chris</a>.</p>
    116 
    117 </div>
    118 
    119 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
    120 <h2>
    121   <a name="mechanicalissues">Mechanical Source Issues</a>
    122 </h2>
    123 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
    124 
    125 <div>
    126 
    127 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
    128 <h3>
    129   <a name="sourceformating">Source Code Formatting</a>
    130 </h3>
    131 
    132 <div>
    133 
    134 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    135 <h4>
    136   <a name="scf_commenting">Commenting</a>
    137 </h4>
    138 
    139 <div>
    140 
    141 <p>Comments are one critical part of readability and maintainability.  Everyone
    142 knows they should comment, so should you.  When writing comments, write them as
    143 English prose, which means they should use proper capitalization, punctuation,
    144 etc.  Although we all should probably
    145 comment our code more than we do, there are a few very critical places that
    146 documentation is very useful:</p>
    147 
    148 <h5>File Headers</h5>
    149 
    150 <div>
    151 
    152 <p>Every source file should have a header on it that describes the basic 
    153 purpose of the file.  If a file does not have a header, it should not be 
    154 checked into Subversion.  Most source trees will probably have a standard
    155 file header format.  The standard format for the LLVM source tree looks like
    156 this:</p>
    157 
    158 <div class="doc_code">
    159 <pre>
    160 //===-- llvm/Instruction.h - Instruction class definition -------*- C++ -*-===//
    161 //
    162 //                     The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure
    163 //
    164 // This file is distributed under the University of Illinois Open Source
    165 // License. See LICENSE.TXT for details.
    166 //
    167 //===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
    168 //
    169 // This file contains the declaration of the Instruction class, which is the
    170 // base class for all of the VM instructions.
    171 //
    172 //===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
    173 </pre>
    174 </div>
    175 
    176 <p>A few things to note about this particular format:  The "<tt>-*- C++
    177 -*-</tt>" string on the first line is there to tell Emacs that the source file
    178 is a C++ file, not a C file (Emacs assumes <tt>.h</tt> files are C files by default).
    179 Note that this tag is not necessary in <tt>.cpp</tt> files.  The name of the file is also
    180 on the first line, along with a very short description of the purpose of the
    181 file.  This is important when printing out code and flipping though lots of
    182 pages.</p>
    183 
    184 <p>The next section in the file is a concise note that defines the license
    185 that the file is released under.  This makes it perfectly clear what terms the
    186 source code can be distributed under and should not be modified in any way.</p>
    187 
    188 <p>The main body of the description does not have to be very long in most cases.
    189 Here it's only two lines.  If an algorithm is being implemented or something
    190 tricky is going on, a reference to the paper where it is published should be
    191 included, as well as any notes or "gotchas" in the code to watch out for.</p>
    192 
    193 </div>
    194 
    195 <h5>Class overviews</h5>
    196 
    197 <p>Classes are one fundamental part of a good object oriented design.  As such,
    198 a class definition should have a comment block that explains what the class is
    199 used for... if it's not obvious.  If it's so completely obvious your grandma
    200 could figure it out, it's probably safe to leave it out.  Naming classes
    201 something sane goes a long ways towards avoiding writing documentation.</p>
    202 
    203 
    204 <h5>Method information</h5>
    205 
    206 <div>
    207 
    208 <p>Methods defined in a class (as well as any global functions) should also be
    209 documented properly.  A quick note about what it does and a description of the
    210 borderline behaviour is all that is necessary here (unless something
    211 particularly tricky or insidious is going on).  The hope is that people can
    212 figure out how to use your interfaces without reading the code itself... that is
    213 the goal metric.</p>
    214 
    215 <p>Good things to talk about here are what happens when something unexpected
    216 happens: does the method return null?  Abort?  Format your hard disk?</p>
    217 
    218 </div>
    219 
    220 </div>
    221 
    222 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    223 <h4>
    224   <a name="scf_commentformat">Comment Formatting</a>
    225 </h4>
    226 
    227 <div>
    228 
    229 <p>In general, prefer C++ style (<tt>//</tt>) comments.  They take less space,
    230 require less typing, don't have nesting problems, etc.  There are a few cases
    231 when it is useful to use C style (<tt>/* */</tt>) comments however:</p>
    232 
    233 <ol>
    234   <li>When writing C code: Obviously if you are writing C code, use C style
    235       comments.</li>
    236   <li>When writing a header file that may be <tt>#include</tt>d by a C source
    237       file.</li>
    238   <li>When writing a source file that is used by a tool that only accepts C
    239       style comments.</li>
    240 </ol>
    241 
    242 <p>To comment out a large block of code, use <tt>#if 0</tt> and <tt>#endif</tt>.
    243 These nest properly and are better behaved in general than C style comments.</p>
    244 
    245 </div>
    246 
    247 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    248 <h4>
    249   <a name="scf_includes"><tt>#include</tt> Style</a>
    250 </h4>
    251 
    252 <div>
    253 
    254 <p>Immediately after the <a href="#scf_commenting">header file comment</a> (and
    255 include guards if working on a header file), the <a
    256 href="#hl_dontinclude">minimal</a> list of <tt>#include</tt>s required by the
    257 file should be listed.  We prefer these <tt>#include</tt>s to be listed in this
    258 order:</p>
    259 
    260 <ol>
    261   <li><a href="#mmheader">Main Module Header</a></li>
    262   <li><a href="#hl_privateheaders">Local/Private Headers</a></li>
    263   <li><tt>llvm/*</tt></li>
    264   <li><tt>llvm/Analysis/*</tt></li>
    265   <li><tt>llvm/Assembly/*</tt></li>
    266   <li><tt>llvm/Bitcode/*</tt></li>
    267   <li><tt>llvm/CodeGen/*</tt></li>
    268   <li>...</li>
    269   <li><tt>Support/*</tt></li>
    270   <li><tt>Config/*</tt></li>
    271   <li>System <tt>#includes</tt></li>
    272 </ol>
    273 
    274 <p>and each category should be sorted by name.</p>
    275 
    276 <p><a name="mmheader">The "Main Module Header"</a> file applies to <tt>.cpp</tt> files
    277 which implement an interface defined by a <tt>.h</tt> file.  This <tt>#include</tt>
    278 should always be included <b>first</b> regardless of where it lives on the file
    279 system.  By including a header file first in the <tt>.cpp</tt> files that implement the
    280 interfaces, we ensure that the header does not have any hidden dependencies
    281 which are not explicitly #included in the header, but should be.  It is also a
    282 form of documentation in the <tt>.cpp</tt> file to indicate where the interfaces it
    283 implements are defined.</p>
    284 
    285 </div>
    286 
    287 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    288 <h4>
    289   <a name="scf_codewidth">Source Code Width</a>
    290 </h4>
    291 
    292 <div>
    293 
    294 <p>Write your code to fit within 80 columns of text.  This helps those of us who
    295 like to print out code and look at your code in an xterm without resizing
    296 it.</p>
    297 
    298 <p>The longer answer is that there must be some limit to the width of the code
    299 in order to reasonably allow developers to have multiple files side-by-side in
    300 windows on a modest display.  If you are going to pick a width limit, it is
    301 somewhat arbitrary but you might as well pick something standard.  Going with
    302 90 columns (for example) instead of 80 columns wouldn't add any significant 
    303 value and would be detrimental to printing out code.  Also many other projects
    304 have standardized on 80 columns, so some people have already configured their
    305 editors for it (vs something else, like 90 columns).</p>
    306 
    307 <p>This is one of many contentious issues in coding standards, but it is not up
    308 for debate.</p>
    309 
    310 </div>
    311 
    312 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    313 <h4>
    314   <a name="scf_spacestabs">Use Spaces Instead of Tabs</a>
    315 </h4>
    316 
    317 <div>
    318 
    319 <p>In all cases, prefer spaces to tabs in source files.  People have different
    320 preferred indentation levels, and different styles of indentation that they
    321 like; this is fine.  What isn't fine is that different editors/viewers expand
    322 tabs out to different tab stops.  This can cause your code to look completely
    323 unreadable, and it is not worth dealing with.</p>
    324 
    325 <p>As always, follow the <a href="#goldenrule">Golden Rule</a> above: follow the
    326 style of existing code if you are modifying and extending it.  If you like four
    327 spaces of indentation, <b>DO NOT</b> do that in the middle of a chunk of code
    328 with two spaces of indentation.  Also, do not reindent a whole source file: it
    329 makes for incredible diffs that are absolutely worthless.</p>
    330 
    331 </div>
    332 
    333 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    334 <h4>
    335   <a name="scf_indentation">Indent Code Consistently</a>
    336 </h4>
    337 
    338 <div>
    339 
    340 <p>Okay, in your first year of programming you were told that indentation is
    341 important.  If you didn't believe and internalize this then, now is the time.
    342 Just do it.</p>
    343 
    344 </div>
    345 
    346 </div>
    347 
    348 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
    349 <h3>
    350   <a name="compilerissues">Compiler Issues</a>
    351 </h3>
    352 
    353 <div>
    354 
    355 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    356 <h4>
    357   <a name="ci_warningerrors">Treat Compiler Warnings Like Errors</a>
    358 </h4>
    359 
    360 <div>
    361 
    362 <p>If your code has compiler warnings in it, something is wrong &mdash; you
    363 aren't casting values correctly, your have "questionable" constructs in your
    364 code, or you are doing something legitimately wrong.  Compiler warnings can
    365 cover up legitimate errors in output and make dealing with a translation unit
    366 difficult.</p>
    367 
    368 <p>It is not possible to prevent all warnings from all compilers, nor is it
    369 desirable.  Instead, pick a standard compiler (like <tt>gcc</tt>) that provides
    370 a good thorough set of warnings, and stick to it.  At least in the case of
    371 <tt>gcc</tt>, it is possible to work around any spurious errors by changing the
    372 syntax of the code slightly.  For example, a warning that annoys me occurs when
    373 I write code like this:</p>
    374 
    375 <div class="doc_code">
    376 <pre>
    377 if (V = getValue()) {
    378   ...
    379 }
    380 </pre>
    381 </div>
    382 
    383 <p><tt>gcc</tt> will warn me that I probably want to use the <tt>==</tt>
    384 operator, and that I probably mistyped it.  In most cases, I haven't, and I
    385 really don't want the spurious errors.  To fix this particular problem, I
    386 rewrite the code like this:</p>
    387 
    388 <div class="doc_code">
    389 <pre>
    390 if ((V = getValue())) {
    391   ...
    392 }
    393 </pre>
    394 </div>
    395 
    396 <p>which shuts <tt>gcc</tt> up.  Any <tt>gcc</tt> warning that annoys you can
    397 be fixed by massaging the code appropriately.</p>
    398 
    399 <p>These are the <tt>gcc</tt> warnings that I prefer to enable:</p>
    400 
    401 <div class="doc_code">
    402 <pre>
    403 -Wall -Winline -W -Wwrite-strings -Wno-unused
    404 </pre>
    405 </div>
    406 
    407 </div>
    408 
    409 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    410 <h4>
    411   <a name="ci_portable_code">Write Portable Code</a>
    412 </h4>
    413 
    414 <div>
    415 
    416 <p>In almost all cases, it is possible and within reason to write completely
    417 portable code.  If there are cases where it isn't possible to write portable
    418 code, isolate it behind a well defined (and well documented) interface.</p>
    419 
    420 <p>In practice, this means that you shouldn't assume much about the host
    421 compiler, and Visual Studio tends to be the lowest common denominator.
    422 If advanced features are used, they should only be an implementation detail of 
    423 a library which has a simple exposed API, and preferably be buried in 
    424 libSystem.</p>
    425 
    426 </div>
    427 
    428 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    429 <h4>
    430 <a name="ci_rtti_exceptions">Do not use RTTI or Exceptions</a>
    431 </h4>
    432 <div>
    433 
    434 <p>In an effort to reduce code and executable size, LLVM does not use RTTI
    435 (e.g. <tt>dynamic_cast&lt;&gt;</tt>) or exceptions.  These two language features
    436 violate the general C++ principle of <i>"you only pay for what you use"</i>,
    437 causing executable bloat even if exceptions are never used in the code base, or
    438 if RTTI is never used for a class.  Because of this, we turn them off globally
    439 in the code.</p>
    440 
    441 <p>That said, LLVM does make extensive use of a hand-rolled form of RTTI that
    442 use templates like <a href="ProgrammersManual.html#isa"><tt>isa&lt;&gt;</tt>,
    443 <tt>cast&lt;&gt;</tt>, and <tt>dyn_cast&lt;&gt;</tt></a>.  This form of RTTI is
    444 opt-in and can be added to any class.  It is also substantially more efficient
    445 than <tt>dynamic_cast&lt;&gt;</tt>.</p>
    446 
    447 </div>
    448 
    449 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    450 <h4>
    451 <a name="ci_class_struct">Use of <tt>class</tt> and <tt>struct</tt> Keywords</a>
    452 </h4>
    453 <div>
    454 
    455 <p>In C++, the <tt>class</tt> and <tt>struct</tt> keywords can be used almost
    456 interchangeably. The only difference is when they are used to declare a class:
    457 <tt>class</tt> makes all members private by default while <tt>struct</tt> makes
    458 all members public by default.</p>
    459 
    460 <p>Unfortunately, not all compilers follow the rules and some will generate
    461 different symbols based on whether <tt>class</tt> or <tt>struct</tt> was used to
    462 declare the symbol.  This can lead to problems at link time.</p> 
    463 
    464 <p>So, the rule for LLVM is to always use the <tt>class</tt> keyword, unless
    465 <b>all</b> members are public and the type is a C++
    466 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_old_data_structure">POD</a> type, in
    467 which case <tt>struct</tt> is allowed.</p>
    468 
    469 </div>
    470 
    471 </div>
    472 
    473 </div>
    474 
    475 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
    476 <h2>
    477   <a name="styleissues">Style Issues</a>
    478 </h2>
    479 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
    480 
    481 <div>
    482 
    483 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
    484 <h3>
    485   <a name="macro">The High-Level Issues</a>
    486 </h3>
    487 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
    488 
    489 <div>
    490 
    491 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    492 <h4>
    493   <a name="hl_module">A Public Header File <b>is</b> a Module</a>
    494 </h4>
    495 
    496 <div>
    497 
    498 <p>C++ doesn't do too well in the modularity department.  There is no real
    499 encapsulation or data hiding (unless you use expensive protocol classes), but it
    500 is what we have to work with.  When you write a public header file (in the LLVM
    501 source tree, they live in the top level "<tt>include</tt>" directory), you are
    502 defining a module of functionality.</p>
    503 
    504 <p>Ideally, modules should be completely independent of each other, and their
    505 header files should only <tt>#include</tt> the absolute minimum number of
    506 headers possible. A module is not just a class, a function, or a
    507 namespace: <a href="http://www.cuj.com/articles/2000/0002/0002c/0002c.htm">it's
    508 a collection of these</a> that defines an interface.  This interface may be
    509 several functions, classes, or data structures, but the important issue is how
    510 they work together.</p>
    511 
    512 <p>In general, a module should be implemented by one or more <tt>.cpp</tt>
    513 files.  Each of these <tt>.cpp</tt> files should include the header that defines
    514 their interface first.  This ensures that all of the dependences of the module
    515 header have been properly added to the module header itself, and are not
    516 implicit.  System headers should be included after user headers for a
    517 translation unit.</p>
    518 
    519 </div>
    520 
    521 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    522 <h4>
    523   <a name="hl_dontinclude"><tt>#include</tt> as Little as Possible</a>
    524 </h4>
    525 
    526 <div>
    527 
    528 <p><tt>#include</tt> hurts compile time performance.  Don't do it unless you
    529 have to, especially in header files.</p>
    530 
    531 <p>But wait! Sometimes you need to have the definition of a class to use it, or
    532 to inherit from it.  In these cases go ahead and <tt>#include</tt> that header
    533 file.  Be aware however that there are many cases where you don't need to have
    534 the full definition of a class.  If you are using a pointer or reference to a
    535 class, you don't need the header file.  If you are simply returning a class
    536 instance from a prototyped function or method, you don't need it.  In fact, for
    537 most cases, you simply don't need the definition of a class. And not
    538 <tt>#include</tt>'ing speeds up compilation.</p>
    539 
    540 <p>It is easy to try to go too overboard on this recommendation, however.  You
    541 <b>must</b> include all of the header files that you are using &mdash; you can
    542 include them either directly or indirectly (through another header file).  To
    543 make sure that you don't accidentally forget to include a header file in your
    544 module header, make sure to include your module header <b>first</b> in the
    545 implementation file (as mentioned above).  This way there won't be any hidden
    546 dependencies that you'll find out about later.</p>
    547 
    548 </div>
    549 
    550 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    551 <h4>
    552   <a name="hl_privateheaders">Keep "Internal" Headers Private</a>
    553 </h4>
    554 
    555 <div>
    556 
    557 <p>Many modules have a complex implementation that causes them to use more than
    558 one implementation (<tt>.cpp</tt>) file.  It is often tempting to put the
    559 internal communication interface (helper classes, extra functions, etc) in the
    560 public module header file.  Don't do this!</p>
    561 
    562 <p>If you really need to do something like this, put a private header file in
    563 the same directory as the source files, and include it locally.  This ensures
    564 that your private interface remains private and undisturbed by outsiders.</p>
    565 
    566 <p>Note however, that it's okay to put extra implementation methods in a public
    567 class itself. Just make them private (or protected) and all is well.</p>
    568 
    569 </div>
    570 
    571 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    572 <h4>
    573   <a name="hl_earlyexit">Use Early Exits and <tt>continue</tt> to Simplify Code</a>
    574 </h4>
    575 
    576 <div>
    577 
    578 <p>When reading code, keep in mind how much state and how many previous
    579 decisions have to be remembered by the reader to understand a block of code.
    580 Aim to reduce indentation where possible when it doesn't make it more difficult
    581 to understand the code.  One great way to do this is by making use of early
    582 exits and the <tt>continue</tt> keyword in long loops.  As an example of using
    583 an early exit from a function, consider this "bad" code:</p>
    584 
    585 <div class="doc_code">
    586 <pre>
    587 Value *DoSomething(Instruction *I) {
    588   if (!isa&lt;TerminatorInst&gt;(I) &amp;&amp;
    589       I-&gt;hasOneUse() &amp;&amp; SomeOtherThing(I)) {
    590     ... some long code ....
    591   }
    592   
    593   return 0;
    594 }
    595 </pre>
    596 </div>
    597 
    598 <p>This code has several problems if the body of the '<tt>if</tt>' is large.
    599 When you're looking at the top of the function, it isn't immediately clear that
    600 this <em>only</em> does interesting things with non-terminator instructions, and
    601 only applies to things with the other predicates.  Second, it is relatively
    602 difficult to describe (in comments) why these predicates are important because
    603 the <tt>if</tt> statement makes it difficult to lay out the comments.  Third,
    604 when you're deep within the body of the code, it is indented an extra level.
    605 Finally, when reading the top of the function, it isn't clear what the result is
    606 if the predicate isn't true; you have to read to the end of the function to know
    607 that it returns null.</p>
    608 
    609 <p>It is much preferred to format the code like this:</p>
    610 
    611 <div class="doc_code">
    612 <pre>
    613 Value *DoSomething(Instruction *I) {
    614   // Terminators never need 'something' done to them because ... 
    615   if (isa&lt;TerminatorInst&gt;(I))
    616     return 0;
    617 
    618   // We conservatively avoid transforming instructions with multiple uses
    619   // because goats like cheese.
    620   if (!I-&gt;hasOneUse())
    621     return 0;
    622 
    623   // This is really just here for example.
    624   if (!SomeOtherThing(I))
    625     return 0;
    626     
    627   ... some long code ....
    628 }
    629 </pre>
    630 </div>
    631 
    632 <p>This fixes these problems.  A similar problem frequently happens in <tt>for</tt>
    633 loops.  A silly example is something like this:</p>
    634 
    635 <div class="doc_code">
    636 <pre>
    637   for (BasicBlock::iterator II = BB-&gt;begin(), E = BB-&gt;end(); II != E; ++II) {
    638     if (BinaryOperator *BO = dyn_cast&lt;BinaryOperator&gt;(II)) {
    639       Value *LHS = BO-&gt;getOperand(0);
    640       Value *RHS = BO-&gt;getOperand(1);
    641       if (LHS != RHS) {
    642         ...
    643       }
    644     }
    645   }
    646 </pre>
    647 </div>
    648 
    649 <p>When you have very, very small loops, this sort of structure is fine. But if
    650 it exceeds more than 10-15 lines, it becomes difficult for people to read and
    651 understand at a glance. The problem with this sort of code is that it gets very
    652 nested very quickly. Meaning that the reader of the code has to keep a lot of
    653 context in their brain to remember what is going immediately on in the loop,
    654 because they don't know if/when the <tt>if</tt> conditions will have elses etc.
    655 It is strongly preferred to structure the loop like this:</p>
    656 
    657 <div class="doc_code">
    658 <pre>
    659   for (BasicBlock::iterator II = BB-&gt;begin(), E = BB-&gt;end(); II != E; ++II) {
    660     BinaryOperator *BO = dyn_cast&lt;BinaryOperator&gt;(II);
    661     if (!BO) continue;
    662     
    663     Value *LHS = BO-&gt;getOperand(0);
    664     Value *RHS = BO-&gt;getOperand(1);
    665     if (LHS == RHS) continue;
    666 
    667     ...
    668   }
    669 </pre>
    670 </div>
    671 
    672 <p>This has all the benefits of using early exits for functions: it reduces
    673 nesting of the loop, it makes it easier to describe why the conditions are true,
    674 and it makes it obvious to the reader that there is no <tt>else</tt> coming up
    675 that they have to push context into their brain for.  If a loop is large, this
    676 can be a big understandability win.</p>
    677 
    678 </div>
    679 
    680 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    681 <h4>
    682   <a name="hl_else_after_return">Don't use <tt>else</tt> after a <tt>return</tt></a>
    683 </h4>
    684 
    685 <div>
    686 
    687 <p>For similar reasons above (reduction of indentation and easier reading),
    688 please do not use '<tt>else</tt>' or '<tt>else if</tt>' after something that
    689 interrupts control flow &mdash; like <tt>return</tt>, <tt>break</tt>,
    690 <tt>continue</tt>, <tt>goto</tt>, etc. For example, this is <em>bad</em>:</p>
    691 
    692 <div class="doc_code">
    693 <pre>
    694   case 'J': {
    695     if (Signed) {
    696       Type = Context.getsigjmp_bufType();
    697       if (Type.isNull()) {
    698         Error = ASTContext::GE_Missing_sigjmp_buf;
    699         return QualType();
    700       <b>} else {
    701         break;
    702       }</b>
    703     } else {
    704       Type = Context.getjmp_bufType();
    705       if (Type.isNull()) {
    706         Error = ASTContext::GE_Missing_jmp_buf;
    707         return QualType();
    708       <b>} else {
    709         break;
    710       }</b>
    711     }
    712   }
    713   }
    714 </pre>
    715 </div>
    716 
    717 <p>It is better to write it like this:</p>
    718 
    719 <div class="doc_code">
    720 <pre>
    721   case 'J':
    722     if (Signed) {
    723       Type = Context.getsigjmp_bufType();
    724       if (Type.isNull()) {
    725         Error = ASTContext::GE_Missing_sigjmp_buf;
    726         return QualType();
    727       }
    728     } else {
    729       Type = Context.getjmp_bufType();
    730       if (Type.isNull()) {
    731         Error = ASTContext::GE_Missing_jmp_buf;
    732         return QualType();
    733       }
    734     }
    735     <b>break;</b>
    736 </pre>
    737 </div>
    738 
    739 <p>Or better yet (in this case) as:</p>
    740 
    741 <div class="doc_code">
    742 <pre>
    743   case 'J':
    744     if (Signed)
    745       Type = Context.getsigjmp_bufType();
    746     else
    747       Type = Context.getjmp_bufType();
    748     
    749     if (Type.isNull()) {
    750       Error = Signed ? ASTContext::GE_Missing_sigjmp_buf :
    751                        ASTContext::GE_Missing_jmp_buf;
    752       return QualType();
    753     }
    754     <b>break;</b>
    755 </pre>
    756 </div>
    757 
    758 <p>The idea is to reduce indentation and the amount of code you have to keep
    759 track of when reading the code.</p>
    760               
    761 </div>
    762 
    763 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    764 <h4>
    765   <a name="hl_predicateloops">Turn Predicate Loops into Predicate Functions</a>
    766 </h4>
    767 
    768 <div>
    769 
    770 <p>It is very common to write small loops that just compute a boolean value.
    771 There are a number of ways that people commonly write these, but an example of
    772 this sort of thing is:</p>
    773    
    774 <div class="doc_code">
    775 <pre>
    776   <b>bool FoundFoo = false;</b>
    777   for (unsigned i = 0, e = BarList.size(); i != e; ++i)
    778     if (BarList[i]-&gt;isFoo()) {
    779       <b>FoundFoo = true;</b>
    780       break;
    781     }
    782     
    783   <b>if (FoundFoo) {</b>
    784     ...
    785   }
    786 </pre>
    787 </div>
    788 
    789 <p>This sort of code is awkward to write, and is almost always a bad sign.
    790 Instead of this sort of loop, we strongly prefer to use a predicate function
    791 (which may be <a href="#micro_anonns">static</a>) that uses
    792 <a href="#hl_earlyexit">early exits</a> to compute the predicate.  We prefer
    793 the code to be structured like this:</p>
    794 
    795 <div class="doc_code">
    796 <pre>
    797 /// ListContainsFoo - Return true if the specified list has an element that is
    798 /// a foo.
    799 static bool ListContainsFoo(const std::vector&lt;Bar*&gt; &amp;List) {
    800   for (unsigned i = 0, e = List.size(); i != e; ++i)
    801     if (List[i]-&gt;isFoo())
    802       return true;
    803   return false;
    804 }
    805 ...
    806 
    807   <b>if (ListContainsFoo(BarList)) {</b>
    808     ...
    809   }
    810 </pre>
    811 </div>
    812 
    813 <p>There are many reasons for doing this: it reduces indentation and factors out
    814 code which can often be shared by other code that checks for the same predicate.
    815 More importantly, it <em>forces you to pick a name</em> for the function, and
    816 forces you to write a comment for it.  In this silly example, this doesn't add
    817 much value.  However, if the condition is complex, this can make it a lot easier
    818 for the reader to understand the code that queries for this predicate.  Instead
    819 of being faced with the in-line details of how we check to see if the BarList
    820 contains a foo, we can trust the function name and continue reading with better
    821 locality.</p>
    822 
    823 </div>
    824 
    825 </div>
    826 
    827 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
    828 <h3>
    829   <a name="micro">The Low-Level Issues</a>
    830 </h3>
    831 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
    832 
    833 <div>
    834 
    835 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    836 <h4>
    837   <a name="ll_naming">
    838     Name Types, Functions, Variables, and Enumerators Properly
    839   </a>
    840 </h4>
    841 
    842 <div>
    843 
    844 <p>Poorly-chosen names can mislead the reader and cause bugs. We cannot stress
    845 enough how important it is to use <em>descriptive</em> names.  Pick names that
    846 match the semantics and role of the underlying entities, within reason.  Avoid
    847 abbreviations unless they are well known.  After picking a good name, make sure
    848 to use consistent capitalization for the name, as inconsistency requires clients
    849 to either memorize the APIs or to look it up to find the exact spelling.</p>
    850 
    851 <p>In general, names should be in camel case (e.g. <tt>TextFileReader</tt>
    852 and <tt>isLValue()</tt>).  Different kinds of declarations have different
    853 rules:</p>
    854 
    855 <ul>
    856 <li><p><b>Type names</b> (including classes, structs, enums, typedefs, etc)
    857     should be nouns and start with an upper-case letter (e.g.
    858     <tt>TextFileReader</tt>).</p></li>
    859 
    860 <li><p><b>Variable names</b> should be nouns (as they represent state).  The
    861     name should be camel case, and start with an upper case letter (e.g.
    862     <tt>Leader</tt> or <tt>Boats</tt>).</p></li>
    863   
    864 <li><p><b>Function names</b> should be verb phrases (as they represent
    865     actions), and command-like function should be imperative.  The name should
    866     be camel case, and start with a lower case letter (e.g. <tt>openFile()</tt>
    867     or <tt>isFoo()</tt>).</p></li>
    868 
    869 <li><p><b>Enum declarations</b> (e.g. <tt>enum Foo {...}</tt>) are types, so
    870     they should follow the naming conventions for types.  A common use for enums
    871     is as a discriminator for a union, or an indicator of a subclass.  When an
    872     enum is used for something like this, it should have a <tt>Kind</tt> suffix
    873     (e.g. <tt>ValueKind</tt>).</p></li>
    874   
    875 <li><p><b>Enumerators</b> (e.g. <tt>enum { Foo, Bar }</tt>) and <b>public member
    876     variables</b> should start with an upper-case letter, just like types.
    877     Unless the enumerators are defined in their own small namespace or inside a
    878     class, enumerators should have a prefix corresponding to the enum
    879     declaration name.  For example, <tt>enum ValueKind { ... };</tt> may contain
    880     enumerators like <tt>VK_Argument</tt>, <tt>VK_BasicBlock</tt>, etc.
    881     Enumerators that are just convenience constants are exempt from the
    882     requirement for a prefix.  For instance:</p>
    883 
    884 <div class="doc_code">
    885 <pre>
    886 enum {
    887   MaxSize = 42,
    888   Density = 12
    889 };
    890 </pre>
    891 </div>
    892 </li>
    893 
    894 </ul>
    895   
    896 <p>As an exception, classes that mimic STL classes can have member names in
    897 STL's style of lower-case words separated by underscores (e.g. <tt>begin()</tt>,
    898 <tt>push_back()</tt>, and <tt>empty()</tt>).</p>
    899 
    900 <p>Here are some examples of good and bad names:</p>
    901 
    902 <div class="doc_code">
    903 <pre>
    904 class VehicleMaker {
    905   ...
    906   Factory&lt;Tire&gt; F;            // Bad -- abbreviation and non-descriptive.
    907   Factory&lt;Tire&gt; Factory;      // Better.
    908   Factory&lt;Tire&gt; TireFactory;  // Even better -- if VehicleMaker has more than one
    909                               // kind of factories.
    910 };
    911 
    912 Vehicle MakeVehicle(VehicleType Type) {
    913   VehicleMaker M;                         // Might be OK if having a short life-span.
    914   Tire tmp1 = M.makeTire();               // Bad -- 'tmp1' provides no information.
    915   Light headlight = M.makeLight("head");  // Good -- descriptive.
    916   ...
    917 }
    918 </pre>
    919 </div>
    920 
    921 </div>
    922 
    923 
    924 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
    925 <h4>
    926   <a name="ll_assert">Assert Liberally</a>
    927 </h4>
    928 
    929 <div>
    930 
    931 <p>Use the "<tt>assert</tt>" macro to its fullest.  Check all of your
    932 preconditions and assumptions, you never know when a bug (not necessarily even
    933 yours) might be caught early by an assertion, which reduces debugging time
    934 dramatically.  The "<tt>&lt;cassert&gt;</tt>" header file is probably already
    935 included by the header files you are using, so it doesn't cost anything to use
    936 it.</p>
    937 
    938 <p>To further assist with debugging, make sure to put some kind of error message
    939 in the assertion statement, which is printed if the assertion is tripped. This
    940 helps the poor debugger make sense of why an assertion is being made and
    941 enforced, and hopefully what to do about it.  Here is one complete example:</p>
    942 
    943 <div class="doc_code">
    944 <pre>
    945 inline Value *getOperand(unsigned i) { 
    946   assert(i &lt; Operands.size() &amp;&amp; "getOperand() out of range!");
    947   return Operands[i]; 
    948 }
    949 </pre>
    950 </div>
    951 
    952 <p>Here are more examples:</p>
    953 
    954 <div class="doc_code">
    955 <pre>
    956 assert(Ty-&gt;isPointerType() &amp;&amp; "Can't allocate a non pointer type!");
    957 
    958 assert((Opcode == Shl || Opcode == Shr) &amp;&amp; "ShiftInst Opcode invalid!");
    959 
    960 assert(idx &lt; getNumSuccessors() &amp;&amp; "Successor # out of range!");
    961 
    962 assert(V1.getType() == V2.getType() &amp;&amp; "Constant types must be identical!");
    963 
    964 assert(isa&lt;PHINode&gt;(Succ-&gt;front()) &amp;&amp; "Only works on PHId BBs!");
    965 </pre>
    966 </div>
    967 
    968 <p>You get the idea.</p>
    969 
    970 <p>Please be aware that, when adding assert statements, not all compilers are aware of
    971 the semantics of the assert.  In some places, asserts are used to indicate a piece of
    972 code that should not be reached.  These are typically of the form:</p>
    973 
    974 <div class="doc_code">
    975 <pre>
    976 assert(0 &amp;&amp; "Some helpful error message");
    977 </pre>
    978 </div>
    979 
    980 <p>When used in a function that returns a value, they should be followed with a return
    981 statement and a comment indicating that this line is never reached.  This will prevent
    982 a compiler which is unable to deduce that the assert statement never returns from
    983 generating a warning.</p>
    984 
    985 <div class="doc_code">
    986 <pre>
    987 assert(0 &amp;&amp; "Some helpful error message");
    988 // Not reached
    989 return 0;
    990 </pre>
    991 </div>
    992 
    993 <p>Another issue is that values used only by assertions will produce an "unused
    994 value" warning when assertions are disabled.  For example, this code will
    995 warn:</p>
    996 
    997 <div class="doc_code">
    998 <pre>
    999 unsigned Size = V.size();
   1000 assert(Size &gt; 42 &amp;&amp; "Vector smaller than it should be");
   1001 
   1002 bool NewToSet = Myset.insert(Value);
   1003 assert(NewToSet &amp;&amp; "The value shouldn't be in the set yet");
   1004 </pre>
   1005 </div>
   1006 
   1007 <p>These are two interesting different cases. In the first case, the call to
   1008 V.size() is only useful for the assert, and we don't want it executed when
   1009 assertions are disabled.  Code like this should move the call into the assert
   1010 itself.  In the second case, the side effects of the call must happen whether
   1011 the assert is enabled or not.  In this case, the value should be cast to void to
   1012 disable the warning.  To be specific, it is preferred to write the code like
   1013 this:</p>
   1014 
   1015 <div class="doc_code">
   1016 <pre>
   1017 assert(V.size() &gt; 42 &amp;&amp; "Vector smaller than it should be");
   1018 
   1019 bool NewToSet = Myset.insert(Value); (void)NewToSet;
   1020 assert(NewToSet &amp;&amp; "The value shouldn't be in the set yet");
   1021 </pre>
   1022 </div>
   1023 
   1024 
   1025 </div>
   1026 
   1027 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1028 <h4>
   1029   <a name="ll_ns_std">Do Not Use '<tt>using namespace std</tt>'</a>
   1030 </h4>
   1031 
   1032 <div>
   1033 
   1034 <p>In LLVM, we prefer to explicitly prefix all identifiers from the standard
   1035 namespace with an "<tt>std::</tt>" prefix, rather than rely on
   1036 "<tt>using namespace std;</tt>".</p>
   1037 
   1038 <p> In header files, adding a '<tt>using namespace XXX</tt>' directive pollutes
   1039 the namespace of any source file that <tt>#include</tt>s the header.  This is
   1040 clearly a bad thing.</p>
   1041 
   1042 <p>In implementation files (e.g. <tt>.cpp</tt> files), the rule is more of a stylistic
   1043 rule, but is still important.  Basically, using explicit namespace prefixes
   1044 makes the code <b>clearer</b>, because it is immediately obvious what facilities
   1045 are being used and where they are coming from. And <b>more portable</b>, because
   1046 namespace clashes cannot occur between LLVM code and other namespaces.  The
   1047 portability rule is important because different standard library implementations
   1048 expose different symbols (potentially ones they shouldn't), and future revisions
   1049 to the C++ standard will add more symbols to the <tt>std</tt> namespace.  As
   1050 such, we never use '<tt>using namespace std;</tt>' in LLVM.</p>
   1051 
   1052 <p>The exception to the general rule (i.e. it's not an exception for
   1053 the <tt>std</tt> namespace) is for implementation files.  For example, all of
   1054 the code in the LLVM project implements code that lives in the 'llvm' namespace.
   1055 As such, it is ok, and actually clearer, for the <tt>.cpp</tt> files to have a
   1056 '<tt>using namespace llvm;</tt>' directive at the top, after the
   1057 <tt>#include</tt>s.  This reduces indentation in the body of the file for source
   1058 editors that indent based on braces, and keeps the conceptual context cleaner.
   1059 The general form of this rule is that any <tt>.cpp</tt> file that implements
   1060 code in any namespace may use that namespace (and its parents'), but should not
   1061 use any others.</p>
   1062 
   1063 </div>
   1064 
   1065 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1066 <h4>
   1067   <a name="ll_virtual_anch">
   1068     Provide a Virtual Method Anchor for Classes in Headers
   1069   </a>
   1070 </h4>
   1071 
   1072 <div>
   1073 
   1074 <p>If a class is defined in a header file and has a v-table (either it has 
   1075 virtual methods or it derives from classes with virtual methods), it must 
   1076 always have at least one out-of-line virtual method in the class.  Without 
   1077 this, the compiler will copy the vtable and RTTI into every <tt>.o</tt> file
   1078 that <tt>#include</tt>s the header, bloating <tt>.o</tt> file sizes and
   1079 increasing link times.</p>
   1080 
   1081 </div>
   1082 
   1083 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1084 <h4>
   1085   <a name="ll_end">Don't evaluate <tt>end()</tt> every time through a loop</a>
   1086 </h4>
   1087 
   1088 <div>
   1089 
   1090 <p>Because C++ doesn't have a standard "<tt>foreach</tt>" loop (though it can be
   1091 emulated with macros and may be coming in C++'0x) we end up writing a lot of
   1092 loops that manually iterate from begin to end on a variety of containers or
   1093 through other data structures.  One common mistake is to write a loop in this
   1094 style:</p>
   1095 
   1096 <div class="doc_code">
   1097 <pre>
   1098   BasicBlock *BB = ...
   1099   for (BasicBlock::iterator I = BB->begin(); I != <b>BB->end()</b>; ++I)
   1100      ... use I ...
   1101 </pre>
   1102 </div>
   1103 
   1104 <p>The problem with this construct is that it evaluates "<tt>BB->end()</tt>"
   1105 every time through the loop.  Instead of writing the loop like this, we strongly
   1106 prefer loops to be written so that they evaluate it once before the loop starts.
   1107 A convenient way to do this is like so:</p>
   1108 
   1109 <div class="doc_code">
   1110 <pre>
   1111   BasicBlock *BB = ...
   1112   for (BasicBlock::iterator I = BB->begin(), E = <b>BB->end()</b>; I != E; ++I)
   1113      ... use I ...
   1114 </pre>
   1115 </div>
   1116 
   1117 <p>The observant may quickly point out that these two loops may have different
   1118 semantics: if the container (a basic block in this case) is being mutated, then
   1119 "<tt>BB->end()</tt>" may change its value every time through the loop and the
   1120 second loop may not in fact be correct.  If you actually do depend on this
   1121 behavior, please write the loop in the first form and add a comment indicating
   1122 that you did it intentionally.</p>
   1123 
   1124 <p>Why do we prefer the second form (when correct)?  Writing the loop in the
   1125 first form has two problems. First it may be less efficient than evaluating it
   1126 at the start of the loop.  In this case, the cost is probably minor &mdash; a
   1127 few extra loads every time through the loop.  However, if the base expression is
   1128 more complex, then the cost can rise quickly.  I've seen loops where the end
   1129 expression was actually something like: "<tt>SomeMap[x]->end()</tt>" and map
   1130 lookups really aren't cheap.  By writing it in the second form consistently, you
   1131 eliminate the issue entirely and don't even have to think about it.</p>
   1132 
   1133 <p>The second (even bigger) issue is that writing the loop in the first form
   1134 hints to the reader that the loop is mutating the container (a fact that a
   1135 comment would handily confirm!).  If you write the loop in the second form, it
   1136 is immediately obvious without even looking at the body of the loop that the
   1137 container isn't being modified, which makes it easier to read the code and
   1138 understand what it does.</p>
   1139 
   1140 <p>While the second form of the loop is a few extra keystrokes, we do strongly
   1141 prefer it.</p>
   1142 
   1143 </div>
   1144 
   1145 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1146 <h4>
   1147   <a name="ll_iostream"><tt>#include &lt;iostream&gt;</tt> is Forbidden</a>
   1148 </h4>
   1149 
   1150 <div>
   1151 
   1152 <p>The use of <tt>#include &lt;iostream&gt;</tt> in library files is
   1153 hereby <b><em>forbidden</em></b>. The primary reason for doing this is to
   1154 support clients using LLVM libraries as part of larger systems. In particular,
   1155 we statically link LLVM into some dynamic libraries. Even if LLVM isn't used,
   1156 the static constructors are run whenever an application starts up that uses the
   1157 dynamic library. There are two problems with this:</p>
   1158 
   1159 <ol>
   1160   <li>The time to run the static c'tors impacts startup time of applications
   1161       &mdash; a critical time for GUI apps.</li>
   1162 
   1163   <li>The static c'tors cause the app to pull many extra pages of memory off the
   1164       disk: both the code for the static c'tors in each <tt>.o</tt> file and the
   1165       small amount of data that gets touched. In addition, touched/dirty pages
   1166       put more pressure on the VM system on low-memory machines.</li>
   1167 </ol>
   1168 
   1169 <p>Note that using the other stream headers (<tt>&lt;sstream&gt;</tt> for
   1170 example) is not problematic in this regard &mdash;
   1171 just <tt>&lt;iostream&gt;</tt>. However, <tt>raw_ostream</tt> provides various
   1172 APIs that are better performing for almost every use than <tt>std::ostream</tt>
   1173 style APIs. <b>Therefore new code should always
   1174 use <a href="#ll_raw_ostream"><tt>raw_ostream</tt></a> for writing, or
   1175 the <tt>llvm::MemoryBuffer</tt> API for reading files.</b></p>
   1176 
   1177 </div>
   1178 
   1179 
   1180 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1181 <h4>
   1182   <a name="ll_raw_ostream">Use <tt>raw_ostream</tt></a>
   1183 </h4>
   1184 
   1185 <div>
   1186 
   1187 <p>LLVM includes a lightweight, simple, and efficient stream implementation
   1188 in <tt>llvm/Support/raw_ostream.h</tt>, which provides all of the common
   1189 features of <tt>std::ostream</tt>.  All new code should use <tt>raw_ostream</tt>
   1190 instead of <tt>ostream</tt>.</p>
   1191 
   1192 <p>Unlike <tt>std::ostream</tt>, <tt>raw_ostream</tt> is not a template and can
   1193 be forward declared as <tt>class raw_ostream</tt>.  Public headers should
   1194 generally not include the <tt>raw_ostream</tt> header, but use forward
   1195 declarations and constant references to <tt>raw_ostream</tt> instances.</p>
   1196 
   1197 </div>
   1198 
   1199 
   1200 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1201 <h4>
   1202   <a name="ll_avoidendl">Avoid <tt>std::endl</tt></a>
   1203 </h4>
   1204 
   1205 <div>
   1206 
   1207 <p>The <tt>std::endl</tt> modifier, when used with <tt>iostreams</tt> outputs a
   1208 newline to the output stream specified.  In addition to doing this, however, it
   1209 also flushes the output stream.  In other words, these are equivalent:</p>
   1210 
   1211 <div class="doc_code">
   1212 <pre>
   1213 std::cout &lt;&lt; std::endl;
   1214 std::cout &lt;&lt; '\n' &lt;&lt; std::flush;
   1215 </pre>
   1216 </div>
   1217 
   1218 <p>Most of the time, you probably have no reason to flush the output stream, so
   1219 it's better to use a literal <tt>'\n'</tt>.</p>
   1220 
   1221 </div>
   1222 
   1223 </div>
   1224 
   1225 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
   1226 <h3>
   1227   <a name="nano">Microscopic Details</a>
   1228 </h3>
   1229 <!-- ======================================================================= -->
   1230 
   1231 <div>
   1232 
   1233 <p>This section describes preferred low-level formatting guidelines along with
   1234 reasoning on why we prefer them.</p>
   1235 
   1236 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1237 <h4>
   1238   <a name="micro_spaceparen">Spaces Before Parentheses</a>
   1239 </h4>
   1240 
   1241 <div>
   1242 
   1243 <p>We prefer to put a space before an open parenthesis only in control flow
   1244 statements, but not in normal function call expressions and function-like
   1245 macros.  For example, this is good:</p>
   1246 
   1247 <div class="doc_code">
   1248 <pre>
   1249 <b>if (</b>x) ...
   1250 <b>for (</b>i = 0; i != 100; ++i) ...
   1251 <b>while (</b>llvm_rocks) ...
   1252 
   1253 <b>somefunc(</b>42);
   1254 <b><a href="#ll_assert">assert</a>(</b>3 != 4 &amp;&amp; "laws of math are failing me");
   1255   
   1256 a = <b>foo(</b>42, 92) + <b>bar(</b>x);
   1257 </pre>
   1258 </div>
   1259 
   1260 <p>and this is bad:</p>
   1261 
   1262 <div class="doc_code">
   1263 <pre>
   1264 <b>if(</b>x) ...
   1265 <b>for(</b>i = 0; i != 100; ++i) ...
   1266 <b>while(</b>llvm_rocks) ...
   1267 
   1268 <b>somefunc (</b>42);
   1269 <b><a href="#ll_assert">assert</a> (</b>3 != 4 &amp;&amp; "laws of math are failing me");
   1270   
   1271 a = <b>foo (</b>42, 92) + <b>bar (</b>x);
   1272 </pre>
   1273 </div>
   1274 
   1275 <p>The reason for doing this is not completely arbitrary.  This style makes
   1276 control flow operators stand out more, and makes expressions flow better. The
   1277 function call operator binds very tightly as a postfix operator.  Putting a
   1278 space after a function name (as in the last example) makes it appear that the
   1279 code might bind the arguments of the left-hand-side of a binary operator with
   1280 the argument list of a function and the name of the right side.  More
   1281 specifically, it is easy to misread the "a" example as:</p>
   1282    
   1283 <div class="doc_code">
   1284 <pre>
   1285 a = foo <b>(</b>(42, 92) + bar<b>)</b> (x);
   1286 </pre>
   1287 </div>
   1288 
   1289 <p>when skimming through the code.  By avoiding a space in a function, we avoid
   1290 this misinterpretation.</p>
   1291 
   1292 </div>
   1293 
   1294 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1295 <h4>
   1296   <a name="micro_preincrement">Prefer Preincrement</a>
   1297 </h4>
   1298 
   1299 <div>
   1300 
   1301 <p>Hard fast rule: Preincrement (<tt>++X</tt>) may be no slower than
   1302 postincrement (<tt>X++</tt>) and could very well be a lot faster than it.  Use
   1303 preincrementation whenever possible.</p>
   1304 
   1305 <p>The semantics of postincrement include making a copy of the value being
   1306 incremented, returning it, and then preincrementing the "work value".  For
   1307 primitive types, this isn't a big deal... but for iterators, it can be a huge
   1308 issue (for example, some iterators contains stack and set objects in them...
   1309 copying an iterator could invoke the copy ctor's of these as well).  In general,
   1310 get in the habit of always using preincrement, and you won't have a problem.</p>
   1311 
   1312 </div>
   1313 
   1314 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1315 <h4>
   1316   <a name="micro_namespaceindent">Namespace Indentation</a>
   1317 </h4>
   1318 
   1319 <div>
   1320 
   1321 <p>
   1322 In general, we strive to reduce indentation wherever possible.  This is useful
   1323 because we want code to <a href="#scf_codewidth">fit into 80 columns</a> without
   1324 wrapping horribly, but also because it makes it easier to understand the code.
   1325 Namespaces are a funny thing: they are often large, and we often desire to put
   1326 lots of stuff into them (so they can be large).  Other times they are tiny,
   1327 because they just hold an enum or something similar.  In order to balance this,
   1328 we use different approaches for small versus large namespaces.  
   1329 </p>
   1330 
   1331 <p>
   1332 If a namespace definition is small and <em>easily</em> fits on a screen (say,
   1333 less than 35 lines of code), then you should indent its body.  Here's an
   1334 example:
   1335 </p>
   1336 
   1337 <div class="doc_code">
   1338 <pre>
   1339 namespace llvm {
   1340   namespace X86 {
   1341     /// RelocationType - An enum for the x86 relocation codes. Note that
   1342     /// the terminology here doesn't follow x86 convention - word means
   1343     /// 32-bit and dword means 64-bit.
   1344     enum RelocationType {
   1345       /// reloc_pcrel_word - PC relative relocation, add the relocated value to
   1346       /// the value already in memory, after we adjust it for where the PC is.
   1347       reloc_pcrel_word = 0,
   1348 
   1349       /// reloc_picrel_word - PIC base relative relocation, add the relocated
   1350       /// value to the value already in memory, after we adjust it for where the
   1351       /// PIC base is.
   1352       reloc_picrel_word = 1,
   1353       
   1354       /// reloc_absolute_word, reloc_absolute_dword - Absolute relocation, just
   1355       /// add the relocated value to the value already in memory.
   1356       reloc_absolute_word = 2,
   1357       reloc_absolute_dword = 3
   1358     };
   1359   }
   1360 }
   1361 </pre>
   1362 </div>
   1363 
   1364 <p>Since the body is small, indenting adds value because it makes it very clear
   1365 where the namespace starts and ends, and it is easy to take the whole thing in
   1366 in one "gulp" when reading the code.  If the blob of code in the namespace is
   1367 larger (as it typically is in a header in the <tt>llvm</tt> or <tt>clang</tt> namespaces), do not
   1368 indent the code, and add a comment indicating what namespace is being closed.
   1369 For example:</p>
   1370 
   1371 <div class="doc_code">
   1372 <pre>
   1373 namespace llvm {
   1374 namespace knowledge {
   1375 
   1376 /// Grokable - This class represents things that Smith can have an intimate
   1377 /// understanding of and contains the data associated with it.
   1378 class Grokable {
   1379 ...
   1380 public:
   1381   explicit Grokable() { ... }
   1382   virtual ~Grokable() = 0;
   1383   
   1384   ...
   1385 
   1386 };
   1387 
   1388 } // end namespace knowledge
   1389 } // end namespace llvm
   1390 </pre>
   1391 </div>
   1392 
   1393 <p>Because the class is large, we don't expect that the reader can easily
   1394 understand the entire concept in a glance, and the end of the file (where the
   1395 namespaces end) may be a long ways away from the place they open.  As such,
   1396 indenting the contents of the namespace doesn't add any value, and detracts from
   1397 the readability of the class.  In these cases it is best to <em>not</em> indent
   1398 the contents of the namespace.</p>
   1399 
   1400 </div>
   1401 
   1402 <!-- _______________________________________________________________________ -->
   1403 <h4>
   1404   <a name="micro_anonns">Anonymous Namespaces</a>
   1405 </h4>
   1406 
   1407 <div>
   1408 
   1409 <p>After talking about namespaces in general, you may be wondering about
   1410 anonymous namespaces in particular.
   1411 Anonymous namespaces are a great language feature that tells the C++ compiler
   1412 that the contents of the namespace are only visible within the current
   1413 translation unit, allowing more aggressive optimization and eliminating the
   1414 possibility of symbol name collisions.  Anonymous namespaces are to C++ as 
   1415 "static" is to C functions and global variables.  While "static" is available
   1416 in C++, anonymous namespaces are more general: they can make entire classes
   1417 private to a file.</p>
   1418 
   1419 <p>The problem with anonymous namespaces is that they naturally want to
   1420 encourage indentation of their body, and they reduce locality of reference: if
   1421 you see a random function definition in a C++ file, it is easy to see if it is
   1422 marked static, but seeing if it is in an anonymous namespace requires scanning
   1423 a big chunk of the file.</p>
   1424 
   1425 <p>Because of this, we have a simple guideline: make anonymous namespaces as
   1426 small as possible, and only use them for class declarations.  For example, this
   1427 is good:</p>
   1428 
   1429 <div class="doc_code">
   1430 <pre>
   1431 <b>namespace {</b>
   1432   class StringSort {
   1433   ...
   1434   public:
   1435     StringSort(...)
   1436     bool operator&lt;(const char *RHS) const;
   1437   };
   1438 <b>} // end anonymous namespace</b>
   1439 
   1440 static void Helper() { 
   1441   ... 
   1442 }
   1443 
   1444 bool StringSort::operator&lt;(const char *RHS) const {
   1445   ...
   1446 }
   1447 
   1448 </pre>
   1449 </div>
   1450 
   1451 <p>This is bad:</p>
   1452 
   1453 
   1454 <div class="doc_code">
   1455 <pre>
   1456 <b>namespace {</b>
   1457 class StringSort {
   1458 ...
   1459 public:
   1460   StringSort(...)
   1461   bool operator&lt;(const char *RHS) const;
   1462 };
   1463 
   1464 void Helper() { 
   1465   ... 
   1466 }
   1467 
   1468 bool StringSort::operator&lt;(const char *RHS) const {
   1469   ...
   1470 }
   1471 
   1472 <b>} // end anonymous namespace</b>
   1473 
   1474 </pre>
   1475 </div>
   1476 
   1477 
   1478 <p>This is bad specifically because if you're looking at "Helper" in the middle
   1479 of a large C++ file, that you have no immediate way to tell if it is local to
   1480 the file.  When it is marked static explicitly, this is immediately obvious.
   1481 Also, there is no reason to enclose the definition of "operator&lt;" in the
   1482 namespace just because it was declared there.
   1483 </p>
   1484 
   1485 </div>
   1486 
   1487 </div>
   1488 
   1489 </div>
   1490 
   1491 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
   1492 <h2>
   1493   <a name="seealso">See Also</a>
   1494 </h2>
   1495 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
   1496 
   1497 <div>
   1498 
   1499 <p>A lot of these comments and recommendations have been culled for other
   1500 sources.  Two particularly important books for our work are:</p>
   1501 
   1502 <ol>
   1503 
   1504 <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Specific-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Computing/dp/0321334876">Effective
   1505 C++</a> by Scott Meyers.  Also 
   1506 interesting and useful are "More Effective C++" and "Effective STL" by the same
   1507 author.</li>
   1508 
   1509 <li>Large-Scale C++ Software Design by John Lakos</li>
   1510 
   1511 </ol>
   1512 
   1513 <p>If you get some free time, and you haven't read them: do so, you might learn
   1514 something.</p>
   1515 
   1516 </div>
   1517 
   1518 <!-- *********************************************************************** -->
   1519 
   1520 <hr>
   1521 <address>
   1522   <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/check/referer"><img
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   1526 
   1527   <a href="mailto:sabre (a] nondot.org">Chris Lattner</a><br>
   1528   <a href="http://llvm.org/">LLVM Compiler Infrastructure</a><br>
   1529   Last modified: $Date: 2011-08-12 15:49:16 -0400 (Fri, 12 Aug 2011) $
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