Programming Help for Beginners
We write programs to instruct computers. When programming using a high level programming language like C++ or Java, we are using a syntax that is somewhat closer to human languages. However, we use these programs as inputs to either compilers or interpreters to be converted to computer understandable binary format. For this reason, as far as the program code adheres to the syntax of the used programming languages, the compilers and interpreters never bother about the layout or visual formatting of the program code. However, as human programmers, we ourselves need to bother about the aesthetics of the program code.
What is a Coding Standard?
A coding standard is a set of guidelines, rules and regulations on how to write code. Usually a coding standard includes guide lines on how to name variables, how to indent the code, how to place parenthesis and keywords etc. The idea is to be consistent in programming so that, in case of multiple people working on the same code, it becomes easier for one to understand what others have done. Even for individual programmers, and especially for beginners, it becomes very important to adhere to a standard when writing the code. The idea is, when we look at our own code after some time, if we have followed a coding standard, it takes less time to understand or remember what we meant when we wrote some piece of code.
Coding Standards Make a Difference
Look at the following example:
int volume(int i, int j, int k) {
int vol;
vol = i * j * k;
return vol;
}
Looking at this code at a glance, it takes some time for one to understand that this function calculates the volume. However if we adhere to a naming convention for variables and method names, we could make the code more readable.
Here are few sample conventions:
int calculateVolume(int height, int width, int length) {
int volume = 0;
volume = height * width * length;
return volume;
}
It takes more time to type this code, however this saves far more time. This code is far more readable than its original version. With a little bit of effort, we could make the code much more understandable.
The Benefits
It is not only the readability that we get through a coding standard in programming. Writing more secure code could also be encouraged through a coding convention. As an example, in C++ we could say that each pointer variable must be initialized to NULL.
char* myName = NULL;
This ensures that we would not corrupt memory while using this pointer variable.
Code readability is just one of the aspects of maintainability. Coding standards help a great deal with program maintainability, our ability to change programs with ease. Consistency imposed through a coding standard is a key factor to achieve success in maintaining prorams.
Defining Your Own Coding Standard
A programmer can define his or her own coding convention and adhere to that in writing programms. However there are many coding conventions available on the Internet. Those who program in Java should have a look into http://java.sun.com/docs/codeconv/html/CodeConvTOC.doc.html - Code Conventions for the Java Programming Language by Sun.
For C++ coding standards, I would recommend that you have a look into http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/webdev/AppB.Cpp_Coding_Standards.htm - C++ Coding Standards from BBC.
http://oopweb.com/CPP/Documents/CPPHOWTO/Volume/C++Programming-HOWTO-14.html - C++ Programming HOWTO has some C++ Coding Conventions and also a bunch of links that lead to several coding standards that you can pick from.
John Dirk
Programming Consultant
http://www.programminghelp4u.com/
Programming ( Assignment / Project ) Help
Some companies that are in need of fleet management may... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains serves majority of US based horizontal and... Read More
Ad-Aware and Spybot are probably the two most well known... Read More
COMMAND LINE FUNCTIONA powerful command line script processor has been... Read More
Task Manager is a Windows system utility that displays thetasks... Read More
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Overview covers What is ERP, Brief... Read More
eStore Advantage allows front-office applications to communicate with back-office business... Read More
Introduction to C++Why Learn C++?C++ may at first seem like... Read More
Preventive Maintenance (PM) is defined as scheduled work done on... Read More
XML Server can be a Web Server that stores the... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very good fit for... Read More
When you own a small business, time is money. And... Read More
It is a well known fact that Java as a... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains as ERP and Microsoft CRM as... Read More
Best Software Act! is very popular CRM for small and... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is now approaching the phase of... Read More
Software development is a risky business.Many software developers are barely... Read More
When you think... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was designed back in the... Read More
You turn on your computer, and it doesn't look quite... Read More
Sales are all about leverage, because there is only so... Read More
It won't matter how effective your WinRunner Team is if... Read More
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy and processes used... Read More
What is Tripwire?Tripwire is a form intrusion detection system (IDS)... Read More
reliable maid service Winnetka ..Are you a database professional? Do you work with a... Read More
Ok... Where to start?Well, I guess I will start at... Read More
If you are software developer or database administrator - we... Read More
Programming Help for BeginnersWe write programs to instruct computers. When... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains might be considered as ERP platform to... Read More
It???s easy to understand why you might be drawn to... Read More
When you need a phone number, you do a quick... Read More
What is 'adware'?Adware is basically software or scripts that are... Read More
The world of small business accounting software can be a... Read More
I like my software simple. If it's too complex or... Read More
Great Plains Fixed Assets Management module is a robust tool... Read More
1. With mapping software you can create a report that... Read More
In the case when you represent mid-size or mid-size-to-large business,... Read More
Before being able to choose a secure Internet communication system,... Read More
Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More
Microsoft CRM customization techniques are very diversified and based on... Read More
Trying to figure out a stream in banning one email... Read More
Linux essentials:It's free for download but you have to pay... Read More
Table of Contents1) Introduction 2) Related Work 3) Framework 4)... Read More
The first thing that you will notice about Linux Red... Read More
Current Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has more that 10... Read More
Best Software Act! is very popular CRM for small and... Read More
Enabling Chinese input is quick and easy, there are only... Read More
What is Colossus?Colossus is software licensed to about twenty-five insurance... Read More
If you've been using MySQL database to store your important... Read More
Software |