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<!-- $Id$ -->

<html>
  <head>
    <title>ACE Software Development Guidelines</title>
    <link rev=made href="mailto:levine@cs.wustl.edu">
  </head>

<BODY text = "#000000"
link="#000fff"
vlink="#ff0f0f"
bgcolor="#ffffff">

<center>
  <h1>ACE Software Development Guidelines</h1>
  <font size=-1>
    Last modified <!--#echo var="LAST_MODIFIED" -->.<p>
  </font>
</center>
<h2>&nbsp</h2>

Thanks to Graham Dumpleton &lt;grahamd@nms.otc.com.au&gt; for providing
corrections to the OSE Classtools link and description.  Thanks also
to Graham for providing the OSE tools!<p>


<hr>
<h3>Coding Guidelines</h3>
<ul>
  <li><strong>General</strong><p>
  <ul>
    <li>Every text file must end with a newline.<p>

    <li>Use spaces instead of tabs, except in Makefiles.  Emacs users
        can add this to their <strong>.emacs</strong>:

        <pre>(setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil)</pre></p>

        Microsoft Visual C++ users should do the following:

        <pre>
        Choose:  Tools -- Options -- Tabs
        Then Set:  "Tab size" to 8 and "Indent size" to 2, and
        indent using spaces.
        </pre><p>

    <li>Every program should have a ``usage'' message.  It should be
        printed out if erroneous command line arguments, or a
        <strong><code>-?</code></strong> command line argument, are
        provided to the program.<p>

    <li>The program <strong><code>main</code></strong> function should
        always be declared with arguments, e.g.,
        <pre>
        int
        main (int argc, char *argv[])
        {
          [...]

          return 0;
        }
        </pre><p>

        It should also return 0 on successful termination, and non-zero
        otherwise.<p>

    <li>Avoid use of floating point types (float and double) and operations
        unless absolutely necessary.  Not all ACE platforms support them.
        Therefore, wherever they are used, ACE_LACKS_FLOATING_POINT
        conditional code must be also be used.<p>
  </ul>

  <li><strong>Code Documentation</strong><p>
  <ul>
    <li>Use comments and whitespace (:-) liberally.<p>

    <li>Insert a CVS/RCS keyword string at the top of every source file,
        Makefile, config file, <em>etc</em>.  For C++ files, it is:
        <pre>
        // $<!-- -->Id$
        </pre>
        It is not necessary to fill in the fields of the keyword string,
        or modify them when you edit a file that already has one.  CVS
        does that automatically when you checkout or update the file.<p>

        To insert that string at the top of a file:
        <pre>
        perl -pi -e 'if (! $o) {printf "// \$<!-- -->Id\$\n\n";}; $o = 1;' <em>file</em>
        </pre><p>

    <li>Comments, especially in header files, must follow the
        <a href=http://www.dscpl.com.au>OSE</a> Tools format requirements.
        Please see the ``Classinfo Tools'' section of the
        <a href=http://www.dscpl.com.au>OSE</a> ``Tools Manual''
        for these requirements.<p>

        Please note that the Classinfo tools in OSE have been developed
        independently since the copies in ACE were made and thus they
        support new features not supported in the ACE version of the tools.
        Certain subtle changes were also made in the ACE copies for
        indicating sections, <em>etc.</em>, which makes them different
        from the OSE documentation.  Please see the
        <a href=http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/ACE-doctools.html>ACE-doctools
        page</a> for descriptions of these changes.<p>
  </ul>

  <li><strong>Preprocessor</strong><p>
  <ul>
    <li>Never #include standard headers directly, except in a few
        specific ACE files, <em>e.g.</em>, OS.h and stdcpp.h.  Let
        those files #include the correct headers.  If you do not do
        this, your code will not compile with the Standard C++ Library.<p>

    <li>Always follow a preprocessor <strong><code>#endif</code></strong>
        with a <strong><code>/*  */</code></strong> C-style comment.  It
        should correspond to the condition in the matching
        <strong><code>#if</code></strong> directive.  For example,
        <pre>
        #if defined (ACE_HAS_THREADS)
        # if defined (ACE_HAS_STHREADS)
        #   include /**/ &lt;synch.h&gt;
        #   include /**/ &lt;thread.h&gt;
        #   define ACE_SCOPE_PROCESS P_PID
        #   define ACE_SCOPE_LWP P_LWPID
        #   define ACE_SCOPE_THREAD (ACE_SCOPE_LWP + 1)
        # else
        #   define ACE_SCOPE_PROCESS 0
        #   define ACE_SCOPE_LWP 1
        #   define ACE_SCOPE_THREAD 2
        # endif /* ACE_HAS_STHREADS */
        #endif /* ACE_HAS_THREADS */
        </pre><p>

    <li>Always insert a <strong><code>/**/</code></strong> between an
        <strong><code>#include</code></strong> and
        <strong><code>filename</code></strong>, as shown in the above
        example.  This avoids dependency problems with Visual C++.<p>
  </ul>

  <li><strong>C++ Syntax and Constructs</strong><p>
  <ul>
    <li><strong><code>for</code></strong> loops should look like:
        <pre>
        for (size_t i = 0; i &lt; Options::instance ()-&gt;spawn_count (); i++)
          spawn ();
        </pre>
        (though I prefer to always wrap the body of the loop in braces,
         to avoid surprises when other code or debugging statements are
         added, and to maintain sanity when the body consists of a macro,
         such as ACE_ASSERT:)
        <pre>
        for (size_t i = 0; i &lt; Options::instance ()-&gt;spawn_count (); i++)
          {
            ACE_ASSERT (spawn () == 0);
          }
        </pre><p>

        Similarly, <strong><code>if</code></strong> statements should have
        a space after the ``<strong>if</strong>'', and no spaces just after
        the opening parenthesis and just before the closing parenthesis.<p>

    <li>Avoid unnecessary parenthesis.  We're not writing Lisp :-)<p>

    <li>Put inline member functions in a <strong><code>.i</code></strong>
        file.  That file is conditionally included by both the
        <strong><code>.h</code></strong> file, for example:<p>

            <pre>
            class ACE_Export ACE_High_Res_Timer
            {
              [...]
            };

            #if defined (__ACE_INLINE__)
            #include "ace/High_Res_Timer.i"
            #endif /* __ACE_INLINE__ */
            </pre><p>

        and <strong><code>.cpp</code></strong> file:<p>

            <pre>
            #define ACE_BUILD_DLL
            #include "ace/High_Res_Timer.h"

            #if !defined (__ACE_INLINE__)
            #include "ace/High_Res_Timer.i"
            #endif /* __ACE_INLINE__ */

            ACE_ALLOC_HOOK_DEFINE(ACE_High_Res_Timer)
            </pre><p>

        <strong>NOTE:</strong> It is very important to ensure than an
        inline function will not be used before its definition is seen.
        Therefore, the inline functions in the .i file should be arranged
        properly.  Some compilers, such as <code>g++</code> with the
        <code>-Wall</code> option, will issue warnings for violations.<p>

    <li><code>ACE_Export</code> must be inserted between the
        <code>class</code> keyword and class name for all classes that
        are exported from libraries, as shown in the example above.
        <strong>However</strong>, do <strong>not</strong> use
        <code>ACE_Export</code> for template classes!<p>

    <li>Mutators and accessors should be of this form:<p>

        <pre>
        void object_addr (const ACE_INET_Addr &);
        // Sets &lt;object_addr_&gt; cache from &lt;host&gt; and &lt;port&gt;.

        ACE_INET_Addr &object_addr (void);
        // Returns the &lt;ACE_INET_Addr&gt; for this profile.
        </pre><p>

        instead of the ``set_'' and ``get_'' form.<p>

    <li>Never use <strong><code>delete</code></strong> to deallocate
        memory that was allocated with <strong><code>malloc</code></strong>.
        Similarly, never associate <strong><code>free</code></strong> with
        <strong><code>new</code></strong>.
        <strong><code>ACE_NEW</code></strong> or
        <strong><code>ACE_NEW_RETURN</code></strong> should be used to
        allocate memory, and <strong><code>delete</code></strong> should
        be used to deallocate it.  And be careful to use the correct form,
        <strong><code>delete</code></strong> or
        <strong><code>delete []</code></strong> to correspond to the
        allocation.<p>

    <li>Always use <strong><code>ACE_NEW</code></strong> or
        <strong><code>ACE_NEW_RETURN</code></strong> to allocate memory,
        because they check for successful allocation and set errno
        appropriately if it fails.<p>

    <li>Never compare or assign a pointer value with <strong>NULL</strong>;
        use <strong>0</strong> instead.  The language allows any pointer to
        be compared or assigned with <strong>0</strong>.  The definition
        of <strong>NULL</strong> is implementation dependent, so it is
        difficult to use portably without casting.<p>

    <li>Never cast a pointer to or from an <strong><code>int</code></strong>.
        On all currently supported ACE platforms, it is safe to cast
        a pointer to or from a <strong><code>long</code></strong>.<p>

    <li>Be very careful when selecting an integer type that must be a
        certain size, <em>e.g.</em>, 4 bytes.  <strong>long</strong> is
        not 4 bytes on all platforms; it is 8 bytes on many 64-bit
        machines.  ACE_UINT32 is always 4 bytes, and ACE_UINT64 is
        always 8 bytes.<p>

    <li>If a class has any virtual functions, and its destructor is
        declared explicitly in the class, then the destructor should
        <strong>always</strong> be virtual as well.  And to support
        compiler activities such as generation of virtual tables and,
        in some cases, template instantiation, the virtual destructor
        should <strong>not be inline</strong>.  (Actually, any non-pure
        virtual function could be made non-inline for this purpose.  But,
        for convenience, if its performance is not critical, it is usually
        easiest just to make the virtual destructor non-inline.)<p>

    <li>Constructor initializers must appear in the same order as
        the data members are declared in the class header.  This avoids
        subtle errors, because initialization takes place in the order
        of member declaration.<p>

    <li>Initialization is usually cleaner than assignment, especially
        in a conditional.  So, instead of writing code like this:

        <pre>
        ssize_t n_bytes;

        // Send multicast of one byte, enough to wake up server.
        if ((n_bytes = multicast.send ((char *) &reply_port, sizeof reply_port)) == -1)
        </pre>

        Write it like this:

        <pre>
        ssize_t n_bytes = multicast.send ((char *) &reply_port, sizeof reply_port)

        // Send multicast of one byte, enough to wake up server.
        if (n_bytes == -1)
        </pre><p>

        But, beware if the initialization is of a static variable.
        A static variable is only initialized the first time its
        declaration is seen.  Of course, we should avoid using
        static variables at all.<p>

    <li>It is usually clearer to write conditionals that have
        both branches without a negated condition.  For example,<p>

        <pre>
        if (test)
          {
            // true branch
          }
        else
          {
            // false branch
          }
        </pre><p>

        is preferred over:<p>

        <pre>
        if (! test)
          {
            // false test branch
          }
        else
          {
            // true test branch
          }
        </pre><p>

    <li>If a cast is necessary, avoid use of function-style casts,
        <em>e.g.</em>, <code>int (foo)</code>.  Instead, use
        one of the ACE cast macros:

        <pre>
        return ACE_static_cast(size_t, this-&gt;count_) &gt; that-&gt;size_;
        </pre><p>

        The general usage guidelines for the four styles of casts are:<p>
        <ul>
          <li><strong>ACE_const_cast</strong>: use to cast away
            constness, or volatile-ness.<p>
          <li><strong>ACE_static_cast</strong>: use to cast between
            compatible types, such as downcasting a pointer or narrowing
            an integer.<p>
          <li><strong>ACE_reinterpret_cast</strong>: use only when
            ACE_static_cast is not suitable.<p>
          <li><strong>ACE_dynamic_cast</strong>: avoid, unless you really
            want to type check at run-time.<p>
        </ul>

    <li>In general, if instances of a class should not be copied,
        then a private copy constructor and assignment operator should
        be declared for the class, but not implemented.  For example:

        <pre>
        // Disallow copying by not implementing the following . . .
        ACE_Object_Manager (const ACE_Object_Manager &);
        ACE_Object_Manager &operator= (const ACE_Object_Manager &);
        </pre><p>

        If the class is a template class, then the
        <code>ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC</code> macro should be used:

        <pre>
        // = Disallow copying...
        ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC (ACE_TSS (const ACE_TSS&lt;TYPE&gt; &))
        ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC (void operator= (const ACE_TSS&lt;TYPE&gt; &))
        </pre><p>

        <code>ACE_UNIMPLEMENTED_FUNC</code> can be used with non-template
        classes as well.  Though for consistency and maximum safety, it
        should be avoided for non-template classes.<p>
  </ul>

  <li><strong>I/O</strong><p>
  <ul>
     <li>Use <strong><code>ACE_DEBUG</code></strong> for printouts,
         and <strong><code>ACE_OS::scanf/fprintf ()</code></strong> for
         file I/O.  Avoid using iostreams because of implementation
         differences across platforms.<p>
  </ul>

  <li><strong>UNICODE conformity</strong><p>

  <ul>
    <li>Define strings as <strong><code>ASYS_TCHAR</code></strong> if
        they need to be passed into system API.  It expands to
        <code>wchar_t</code> only when
        <code>ACE_HAS_MOSTLY_UNICODE_APIS</code> is defined.<p>

    <li>Use <strong><code>ASYS_TEXT</code></strong> and
        <strong><code>ASYS_WIDE_STRING</code></strong> for format
        strings and other string arguments passed to
        <code>ACE_DEBUG</code> or <code>ACE_ERROR</code>.  For
        example,<p>
        <pre>
          void
          ACE_FOO::ace_bar (int err, ASYS_TCHAR *astr)
          {
            ACE_TRACE ("ACE_FOO::ace_bar");

            ACE_DEBUG ((LM_DEBUG, ASYS_TEXT ("From ACE_FOO::ace_bar")));

            if (err)
              ACE_ERROR ((LM_ERROR,
                          ASYS_TEXT ("(%P) Printing this string %s\n"),
                          astr));
          }
        </pre>
        <p>
        This is because ACE also support platforms which use UNICODE
        in most of their APIs.  On these platforms, ACE also uses
        UNICODE as its system string type.<p>

    <li><strong><code>ACE_TRACE</code></strong> handles conversion
        between char strings and UNICODE strings automatically.<p>

    <li>Other helper macros include
        <strong><code>ASYS_MULTIBYTE_STRING</code></strong> and
        <strong><code>ASYS_ONLY_MULTIBYTE_STRING</code></strong>. See
        the end of <a href="../ace/OS.h">OS.h</a> for more details.<p>

  </ul><p>

</ul>


<hr>
<h3><a href="http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/ACE-overview.html">ACE</a>
  Usage Guidelines</h3>
<ul>
  <li>Always use <strong><code>ACE_OS</code></strong> (static)
      member functions instead of bare OS system calls.<p>

  <li>Use the <strong><code>ACE_SYNCH_MUTEX</code></strong> macro,
      instead of using one of the specific mutexes, such as
      <strong><code>ACE_Thread_Mutex</code></strong>.  This provides
      portability between threaded and non-threaded platforms.<p>

  <li>Avoid creating a static instance of user-defined (class) type.
      Instead, either create it as an
      <strong><code>ACE_Singleton</code></strong>,
      <strong><code>ACE_TSS_Singleton</code></strong>, or as an
      <strong><code>ACE_Cleanup</code></strong> object.  See the
      <strong>ACE</strong>
      <a href="../ace/Singleton.h"><code>Singleton.h</code></a>,
      <a href="../ace/Object_Manager.h"><code>Object_Manager.h</code></a>, and
      <a href="../ace/Managed_Object.h"><code>Managed_Object.h</code></a>
      header files for more information.<p>

      Static instances of built-in types, such as
      <strong><code>int</code></strong> or any pointer type, are fine.<p>

      Construction of static instance of a user-defined type should
      <em>never</em> spawn threads.  Because order of construction of
      statics across files is not defined by the language, it is usually
      assumed that only one thread exists during static construction.
      This allows statics suchs as locks to be safely created.  We do not
      want to violate this assumption.<p>

  <li>Do not use run-time type identification (RTTI).  Some platforms
      do not support it.<p>

  <li>Do not use exception handling.  Some platforms do not support it.
      And, it imposes an execution speed penalty.<p>

  <li>Because ACE does not use exception handling, dealing with
      failures requires a bit of care.  This is especially true
      in constructors.  Consider the following approach:

      <pre>
      ACE_NEW_RETURN (this-&gt;name_space_, LOCAL_NAME_SPACE, -1);

      if (ACE_LOG_MSG-&gt;op_status () != 0)
      ....
      </pre>

      This snip of code is from
      <a href="../ace/Naming_Context.cpp"><code>ACE_Naming_Context</code></a>.
      All failed constructors in ACE (should) call ACE_ERROR.  This sets
      the thread specific <strong>op_status</strong>, which can be checked
      by the caller.  This mechanism allows the caller to check for a failed
      constructor without the requiring the constructor to throw
      exceptions.<p>

  <li>Avoid using the C++ Standard Template Library (STL) in our
      applications.  Some platforms do not support it yet.<p>
</ul>


<hr>
<h3><a href="http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~levine/CVS.html">CVS</a>
  Usage Guidelines</h3>
<ul>
  <li>Always make sure that a change builds and executes correctly
      on at least one platform before checking it into the CVS repository.<p>
</ul>


<hr>
<h3>Software Engineering Guidelines</h3>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Advise</strong>:  Keep other developers informed of problems
      and progress.<p>

  <li><strong>Authorize</strong>:  We have contractual obligations to not
      unilaterally change interfaces.  If you need to change or remove an
      interface, get an OK.<p>

  <li><strong>Minimize</strong> risk:  Test all changes.  Solicit review of
      changes.<p>

  <li><strong>Revise</strong> only when necessary:  Every change has risk,
      so avoid making any change unless there is a good reason for it.<p>

  <li><strong>Normalize</strong>:  Factor out commonality.  For example,
      maintain a data value in only one place.<p>

  <li><strong>Synthesize</strong>:  Build stubs and scaffolding early to
      simulate the complete system.  Maintain a checked-in version of the
      system that cleanly builds and tests at all times.<p>
</ul>


<hr>
<h3><a href="http://www.cs.wustl.edu/~schmidt/rules.html">ACE
  Design Rules</a></h3>

<hr>
<!-- hhmts start -->
Last modified: Mon Aug 17 14:51:25 CDT 1998
<!-- hhmts end -->

</body>
</html>