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CONTRIBUTING.md

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Contributing to Lion

Please read carefully these lines before contributing with your own source code to this project.

C++ coding guidelines

This section gives guidelines regarding the programming style for C++ code.

C++ is not easy, and it needs time to master. Therefore, if you are new to C++, think of spending some time reading the code first and try to understand how C++ works before even thinking to implement new features in the project.

General style

  • A header .h file should include function and class declarations, and a .hpp file includes the implementation.

  • The .h file shall include the .hpp file, and other files only should include the .h file.

  • Always include safeguards, named after the name of the file. E.g., for my_class.h use #ifndef MY_CLASS_H__, and my_class.hpp #ifndef MY_CLASS_HPP__

  • There shall not be commented code lines.

  • Use 4 spaces to indent, instead of tabs. An exception can be the switch case, where the case statements can have a spacing of 1 space.

  • Variable names should be descriptive. Never use ambiguous names such as 'aux', 'temp', or 'old'.

  • Always use snake_case

  • Variable names must be lower case (except if it refers to a human name, e.g. Hermite, Lagrange)

  • Function names must be lower case

  • File names must be lower case

  • Add newlines for braces:

    if (statement_is_true)
{
  // do something...
}

    instead of

    if ( statement_is_true ) {
  // do something...
}

  • Use // comment for comments instead of /* comment */

  • Add const statements whenever it applies.

  • Avoid manual dynamic allocation of variables (i.e. avoid using new and delete). Use std::vector and smart pointers instead.

  • Document well your code through comments in doxygen format.

  • Use spacing between operators (i.e. i = 0 instead of i=0)

Classes

  • Class names must start with upper case, and should use Snake_case

  • Avoid polymorphism and virtual functions as long as it is possible. Use template versions instead.

  • If a class is derived, save its parent as base_type:

    class Child : public Parent
{
  using base_type = Parent;
};

  • Do not have const data members, as it prevents the class from having a copy-assignment operator.

  • Make public: only what it is truly required. The rest should default to private:

  • Use static member functions if their implementation does not require an instance of the class.

  • Use const member functions if the instance of the class is readonly in the their implementation.

  • Define one data member per line (e.g. don't int i,j;)

Algorithms

  • Try to use C++ most recent features, within the C++ standard. C++17 is preferred.
  • Before writing an algorithm, make sure it is not in the STL already (standard template library): https://www.cplusplus.com/reference/algorithm/
  • If an algorithm is to be used by the laptime optimal simulator, make sure it is templatized to support both scalar (aka double) and CppAD::AD<scalar>
  • If applies, use range based for loops instead of index based, to loop over containers