Importance of Coding Standards

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:

use meaningful variable names

use verbs in method names

use nouns for variables

use 4 spaces to indent

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

---

Guide to Software Marketing

Intro This concise article will tell you in plain English... Read More

eConnect: eCommerce Development for Microsoft Great Plains

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has several options to enable... Read More

Crystal Reports For Microsoft RMS ? Overview For Developer/Report Designer

If you are software developer or database administrator - we... Read More

Microsoft Small Business Manager Customization Options - Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Small Business Manager is Great Plains Dexterity... Read More

Groupware and Version History: Collaboration Series #1

This article is the first of a series of articles... Read More

Assertion in Java

Assertion facility is added in J2SE 1.4. In order to... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions VAR/Partner Selection ? Overview for IT Director/Manager/Controller

Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM become more and more... Read More

Software Piracy - Global Increase

Pirated software is on the increase and now accounts for... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains as ERP and Microsoft CRM as CRM

If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it for... Read More

An Introduction to .NET Framework

.Net Framework is a platform or development environment to seamlessly... Read More

Spyware, What is it?

Spyware, what it is and what it does. Basically, spyware... Read More

Is Software Tester a Most Infamous Person in a Software Project Team?

The fact that a software tester is a most infamous... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Nationwide Remote Support

ERP Consulting industry is on the way to serve clients... Read More

IT Strategy for Large Corporation: ERP/MRP/CRM, Unix/Linux/Windows, Microsoft/Java

Combining Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains ERP with non-Microsoft Business... Read More

Navision Customization: C/SIDE, C/ODBC, C/FRONT, XBRL ? Development Options

Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with... Read More

Device Driver Basics

Most people understand that the "hardware" part of their computer... Read More

Great Plains Dexterity Programming ? Overview For Developer

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

Adware and Spyware

What is 'adware'?Adware is basically software or scripts that are... Read More

Groupware as a Document Manager: Collaboration Series #3

This article is the third of a series of articles... Read More

Begun, The Browser Wars Have

As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over... Read More

Software Piracy

SOFTWARE PIRACY We regularly hear reports... Read More

Scrap Booking Online: Word Perfect or Corel Graphics Suite?

Scrapbooks are very popular these days. I think that almost... Read More

IT Department Skills to Support Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM

Microsoft Great Plains as ERP and Microsoft CRM as... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Customization Recovery & Upgrade for Large Corporation

At the end of XX century, in the late 1990th... Read More

Pros and Cons of Using FREE Software in Your Business

Itâ??s easy to understand why you might be drawn to... Read More

Not All Project Management Software is Created Equal

The purpose of Project Management Software is to provide an... Read More

Corel WordPerfect 7 Macro Programming Example

Case study: A secretary using Corel WordPerfect 7 is often... Read More

Microsoft CRM Implementation & Customization: MS CRM Fax Gateway

With this small article we are continuing Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

Create A Flash Presentation For Free With Open Office

The intentions of this short tutorial are not to teach... Read More

My Experience - Making a Vision into Reality

Disclaimer: All the thoughts expressed are my views only! Your... Read More

Introduction To ISDN, Part II

In the previous ISDN article, we looked at how and... Read More

Business Plan Software Review: Ultimate Business Planner?

One of the main reasons business owners and entrepreneurs use... Read More

Daffodil DB: Web Database

What is a Web Database?A web database is a database... Read More