.. _pcl_style_guide:

PCL C++ Programming Style Guide
-------------------------------

To make sure that all code in PCL is coherent and easily understood by other
developers and users, we follow a set of strict rules that everyone should
adopt. These rules are not to be broken unless there is a very good reason to
do so. Changes to these rules are always possible, but the person proposing and
changing a rule will have the unfortunate task to go and apply the rule change
to all the existing code.

.. contents:: Table of Contents
   :backlinks: none
   :local:

1. Naming
=========

1.1. Files
^^^^^^^^^^

All files should be **under_scored**.

* Header files have the extension **.h**
* Templated implementation files have the extension **.hpp**
* Source files have the extension **.cpp**

1.2. Directories
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

All directories and subdirectories should be **under_scored**.

* Header files should go under **include/**
* Templated implementation files should go under **include/impl/**
* Source files should go under **src/**

1.3. Includes
^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Include statements are made with **"quotes"** only if the file is in the
same directory, in any other case the include statement is made with
**<chevron_brackets>**, e.g.:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  #include <pcl/module_name/file_name.h>
  #incluce <pcl/module_name/impl/file_name.hpp>

1.4. Defines & Macros
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Macros should all be **ALL_CAPITALS_AND_UNDERSCORED**. Defines for header type
files also need a trailing underscore. Their naming should be mapped from their
include name: ``pcl/filters/bilateral.h`` becomes ``PCL_FILTERS_BILATERAL_H_``.
The ``#ifndef`` and ``#define`` lines should be placed just past the BSD license.
The ``#endif`` goes all the way at the bottom and needs to have the define name in
its comment, e.g:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  // the license
  
  #ifndef PCL_MODULE_NAME_IMPL_FILE_NAME_HPP_
  #define PCL_MODULE_NAME_IMPL_FILE_NAME_HPP_
  
  // the code
  
  #endif // PCL_MODULE_NAME_IMPL_FILE_NAME_HPP_

1.5. Namespaces
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Namespaces should be **under_scored**, e.g.:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  namespace pcl_io
  {
    ...
  }

1.6. Classes / Structs
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Class names (and other type names) should be **CamelCased**.
Exception: if the class name contains a short acronym, the acronym itself
should be all capitals. Class and struct names are preferably **nouns**:
PFHEstimation instead of EstimatePFH.

Correct examples:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  class ExampleClass;
  class PFHEstimation;

1.7. Functions / Methods
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Functions and class method names should be **camelCased**, and arguments are
**under_scored**. Function and method names are preferably **verbs**, and the name
should make clear what it does: checkForErrors() instead of errorCheck(),
dumpDataToFile() instead of dataFile().

Correct usage:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  int 
  applyExample (int example_arg);

1.8. Variables
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Variable names should be **under_scored**.

 .. code-block:: cpp

  int my_variable;

1.8.1. Iterators
""""""""""""""""

Iterator variables should indicate what they're iterating over, e.g.:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  std::list<int> pid_list;
  std::list<int>::iterator pid_it;

1.8.2. Constants
""""""""""""""""

Constants should be **ALL_CAPITALS**, e.g.:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  const static int MY_CONSTANT = 1000;

1.8.3. Member variables
"""""""""""""""""""""""

Variables that are members of a class are **under_scored_**, with a trailing
underscore added, e.g.:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  int example_int_;

1.9. Return statements
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Return statements should have their values in parentheses, e.g.:

 .. code-block:: cpp

  int
  main ()
  {
    return (0);
  }

|

2. Indentation and Formatting
=============================

The standard indentation for each block in PCL is **2 spaces**. Under no
circumstances, tabs or other spacing measures should be used. PCL uses a
variant of the GNU style formatting. 

2.1. Namespaces
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In a header file, the contets of a namespace should be indented, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

  namespace pcl
  {
    class Foo
    {
      ...
    };
  }

In an implementation file, the namespace must be added to each individual
method or function definition, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

  void
  pcl::Foo::bar ()
  {
    ...
  }


2.2. Classes
^^^^^^^^^^^^

The template parameters of a class should be declared on a different line,
e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   template <typename T>
   class Foo
   {
     ...
   }

2.3. Functions / Methods
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The return type of each function declaration must be placed on a different
line, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   void
   bar ();

Same for the implementation/definition, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   void
   bar ()
   {
     ...
   }

or

.. code-block:: cpp

   void
   Foo::bar ()
   {
     ...
   }

or

.. code-block:: cpp

   template <typename T> void
   Foo<T>::bar ()
   {
     ...
   }

2.4. Braces
^^^^^^^^^^^

Braces, both open and close, go on their own lines, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   if (a < b)
   {
     ...
   }
   else
   {
     ...
   }

Braces can be omitted if the enclosed block is a single-line statement, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   if (a < b)
     x = 2 * a;

2.5. Spacing
^^^^^^^^^^^^

We'll say it again: the standard indentation for each block in PCL is **2
spaces**. We also include a space before the bracketed list of arguments to a
function/method, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   int 
   exampleMethod (int example_arg);

If multiple namespaces are declared within header files, always use **2
spaces** to indent them, e.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   namespace foo
   {
     namespace bar
     {
        void
        method (int my_var);
      }
   }

Class and struct members are indented by **2 spaces**. Access qualifiers (public, private and protected) are put at the
indentation level of the class body and members affected by these qualifiers are indented by one more level, i.e. 2 spaces. E.g.:

.. code-block:: cpp

   namespace foo
   {
     class Bar
     {
       int i;
       public:
         int j;
       protected:
         void
         baz ();
     }
   }


2.6. Automatic code formatting
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The following set of rules can be automatically used by various different IDEs,
editors, etc.

2.6.1. Emacs
""""""""""""

You can use the following `PCL C/C++ style file
<http://dev.pointclouds.org/attachments/download/748/pcl-c-style.el>`_,
download it to some known location and then:

* open .emacs 
* add the following before any C/C++ custom hooks

.. code-block:: lisp

   (load-file "/location/to/pcl-c-style.el")
   (add-hook 'c-mode-common-hook 'pcl-set-c-style)

2.6.2. Uncrustify
"""""""""""""""""

You can find a semi-finished config for `Uncrustify <http://uncrustify.sourceforge.net/>`_ `here
<http://dev.pointclouds.org/attachments/download/537/uncrustify.cfg>`_

2.6.3 Eclipse
"""""""""""""

You can find a PCL code style file for Eclipse here: `http://svn.pointclouds.org/pcl/trunk/doc/advanced/content/files/`
Be warned that this can still contain errors, please mention on the user mailing list if this file needs changes. (feel free to patch)

3. Structuring
==============

3.1. Classes and API
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For most classes in PCL, it is preferred that the interface (all public
members) does not contain variables and only two types of methods:

* The first method type is the get/set type that allows to manipulate the
  parameters and input data used by the class.
* The second type of methods is actually performing the class functionality
  and produces output, e.g. compute, filter, segment.

3.2. Passing arguments
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For get/set type methods the following rules apply:

* If large amounts of data needs to be set (usually the case with input data
  in PCL) it is preferred to pass a boost shared pointer instead of the actual
  data.
* Getters always need to pass exactly the same types as their repsective setters
  and vice versa.
* For getters, if only one argument needs to be passed this will be done via
  the return keyword. If two or more arguments need to be passed they will
  all be passed by reference instead.

For the compute, filter, segment, etc. type methods the following rules apply:

* The output arguments are preferably non-pointer type, regardless of data
  size.
* The output arguments will always be passed by reference.

