"Once it _is_ in the tree, it's not really worth the patch noise to
go and fix it up."
- Cf. http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/943020
+ Cf. http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1001.3/01069.html
Make your code readable and sensible, and don't try to be clever.
do this
fi
+ - If a command sequence joined with && or || or | spans multiple
+ lines, put each command on a separate line and put && and || and |
+ operators at the end of each line, rather than the start. This
+ means you don't need to use \ to join lines, since the above
+ operators imply the sequence isn't finished.
+
+ (incorrect)
+ grep blob verify_pack_result \
+ | awk -f print_1.awk \
+ | sort >actual &&
+ ...
+
+ (correct)
+ grep blob verify_pack_result |
+ awk -f print_1.awk |
+ sort >actual &&
+ ...
+
- We prefer "test" over "[ ... ]".
- We do not write the noiseword "function" in front of shell
x = 1;
}
- is frowned upon. A gray area is when the statement extends
- over a few lines, and/or you have a lengthy comment atop of
- it. Also, like in the Linux kernel, if there is a long list
- of "else if" statements, it can make sense to add braces to
- single line blocks.
+ is frowned upon. But there are a few exceptions:
+
+ - When the statement extends over a few lines (e.g., a while loop
+ with an embedded conditional, or a comment). E.g.:
+
+ while (foo) {
+ if (x)
+ one();
+ else
+ two();
+ }
+
+ if (foo) {
+ /*
+ * This one requires some explanation,
+ * so we're better off with braces to make
+ * it obvious that the indentation is correct.
+ */
+ doit();
+ }
+
+ - When there are multiple arms to a conditional and some of them
+ require braces, enclose even a single line block in braces for
+ consistency. E.g.:
+
+ if (foo) {
+ doit();
+ } else {
+ one();
+ two();
+ three();
+ }
- We try to avoid assignments in the condition of an "if" statement.
Note however that a comment that explains a translatable string to
translators uses a convention of starting with a magic token
- "TRANSLATORS: " immediately after the opening delimiter, even when
- it spans multiple lines. We do not add an asterisk at the beginning
- of each line, either. E.g.
+ "TRANSLATORS: ", e.g.
- /* TRANSLATORS: here is a comment that explains the string
- to be translated, that follows immediately after it */
+ /*
+ * TRANSLATORS: here is a comment that explains the string to
+ * be translated, that follows immediately after it.
+ */
_("Here is a translatable string explained by the above.");
- Double negation is often harder to understand than no negation
string_list for sorted string lists, a hash map (mapping struct
objects) named "struct decorate", amongst other things.
- - When you come up with an API, document it.
+ - When you come up with an API, document its functions and structures
+ in the header file that exposes the API to its callers. Use what is
+ in "strbuf.h" as a model for the appropriate tone and level of
+ detail.
- The first #include in C files, except in platform specific compat/
implementations, must be either "git-compat-util.h", "cache.h" or
- Use Git's gettext wrappers to make the user interface
translatable. See "Marking strings for translation" in po/README.
+ - Variables and functions local to a given source file should be marked
+ with "static". Variables that are visible to other source files
+ must be declared with "extern" in header files. However, function
+ declarations should not use "extern", as that is already the default.
+
For Perl programs:
- Most of the C guidelines above apply.
modifying paragraphs or option/command explanations that contain options
or commands:
- Literal examples (e.g. use of command-line options, command names, and
- configuration variables) are typeset in monospace, and if you can use
- `backticks around word phrases`, do so.
+ Literal examples (e.g. use of command-line options, command names,
+ branch names, URLs, pathnames (files and directories), configuration and
+ environment variables) must be typeset in monospace (i.e. wrapped with
+ backticks):
`--pretty=oneline`
`git rev-list`
`remote.pushDefault`
+ `http://git.example.com`
+ `.git/config`
+ `GIT_DIR`
+ `HEAD`
+
+ An environment variable must be prefixed with "$" only when referring to its
+ value and not when referring to the variable itself, in this case there is
+ nothing to add except the backticks:
+ `GIT_DIR` is specified
+ `$GIT_DIR/hooks/pre-receive`
Word phrases enclosed in `backtick characters` are rendered literally
and will not be further expanded. The use of `backticks` to achieve the