Google C++ Style Guide
Revision 3.188
Benjy WeinbergerCraig Silverstein
Gregory Eitzmann
Mark Mentovai
Tashana Landray
Each style point has a summary for which additional information is available by toggling the accompanying arrow button that looks this way:
. You may toggle all summaries with the big arrow button:Important Note
Displaying Hidden Details in this Guide
Background
C++ is the main development language used by many of Google's open-source projects. As every C++ programmer knows, the language has many powerful features, but this power brings with it complexity, which in turn can make code more bug-prone and harder to read and maintain.
The goal of this guide is to manage this complexity by describing in detail the dos and don'ts of writing C++ code. These rules exist to keep the code base manageable while still allowing coders to use C++ language features productively.
Style, also known as readability, is what we call the conventions that govern our C++ code. The term Style is a bit of a misnomer, since these conventions cover far more than just source file formatting.
One way in which we keep the code base manageable is by enforcing consistency. It is very important that any programmer be able to look at another's code and quickly understand it. Maintaining a uniform style and following conventions means that we can more easily use "pattern-matching" to infer what various symbols are and what invariants are true about them. Creating common, required idioms and patterns makes code much easier to understand. In some cases there might be good arguments for changing certain style rules, but we nonetheless keep things as they are in order to preserve consistency.
Another issue this guide addresses is that of C++ feature bloat. C++ is a huge language with many advanced features. In some cases we constrain, or even ban, use of certain features. We do this to keep code simple and to avoid the various common errors and problems that these features can cause. This guide lists these features and explains why their use is restricted.
Open-source projects developed by Google conform to the requirements in this guide.
Note that this guide is not a C++ tutorial: we assume that the reader is familiar with the language.
Header Files
In general, every .cc
file should have an associated .h
file. There are some common exceptions, such as unittests and small .cc
files containing just a main()
function.
Correct use of header files can make a huge difference to the readability, size and performance of your code.
The following rules will guide you through the various pitfalls of using header files.
The #define Guard
#define
guards to prevent multiple inclusion. The format of the symbol name should be
<PROJECT>_<PATH>_<FILE>_H_
.
Inline Functions
Definition: You can declare functions in a way that allows the compiler to expand them inline rather than calling them through the usual function call mechanism.
Pros: Inlining a function can generate more efficient object code, as long as the inlined function is small. Feel free to inline accessors and mutators, and other short, performance-critical functions.
Cons: Overuse of inlining can actually make programs slower. Depending on a function's size, inlining it can cause the code size to increase or decrease. Inlining a very small accessor function will usually decrease code size while inlining a very large function can dramatically increase code size. On modern processors smaller code usually runs faster due to better use of the instruction cache.
Decision:
A decent rule of thumb is to not inline a function if it is more than 10 lines long. Beware of destructors, which are often longer than they appear because of implicit member- and base-destructor calls!
Another useful rule of thumb: it's typically not cost effective to inline functions with loops or switch statements (unless, in the common case, the loop or switch statement is never executed).
It is important to know that functions are not always inlined even if they are declared as such; for example, virtual and recursive functions are not normally inlined. Usually recursive functions should not be inline. The main reason for making a virtual function inline is to place its definition in the class, either for convenience or to document its behavior, e.g., for accessors and mutators.
The -inl.h Files
-inl.h
suffix to define complex inline functions when needed.
Names and Order of Includes
.h
, your project's
.h
.
Scoping
Namespaces
.cc
files are encouraged. With named namespaces, choose the name based on the project, and possibly its path. Do not use a
using-directive.
Nested Classes
Nonmember, Static Member, and Global Functions
Local Variables
Static and Global Variables
Classes
Classes are the fundamental unit of code in C++. Naturally, we use them extensively. This section lists the main dos and don'ts you should follow when writing a class.Doing Work in Constructors
Init()
method.
Definition: It is possible to perform initialization in the body of the constructor.
Pros: Convenience in typing. No need to worry about whether the class has been initialized or not.
Cons: The problems with doing work in constructors are:
- There is no easy way for constructors to signal errors, short of using exceptions (which are forbidden).
- If the work fails, we now have an object whose initialization code failed, so it may be an indeterminate state.
- If the work calls virtual functions, these calls will not get dispatched to the subclass implementations. Future modification to your class can quietly introduce this problem even if your class is not currently subclassed, causing much confusion.
- If someone creates a global variable of this type (which is against the rules, but still), the constructor code will be called before
main()
, possibly breaking some implicit assumptions in the constructor code. For instance, gflags will not yet have been initialized.
Decision: If your object requires non-trivial initialization, consider having an explicit Init()
method. In particular, constructors should not call virtual functions, attempt to raise errors, access potentially uninitialized global variables, etc.
Default Constructors
Explicit Constructors
explicit
for constructors with one argument.
Definition: Normally, if a constructor takes one argument, it can be used as a conversion. For instance, if you define Foo::Foo(string name)
and then pass a string to a function that expects a Foo
, the constructor will be called to convert the string into a Foo
and will pass the Foo
to your function for you. This can be convenient but is also a source of trouble when things get converted and new objects created without you meaning them to. Declaring a constructor explicit
prevents it from being invoked implicitly as a conversion.
Pros: Avoids undesirable conversions.
Cons: None.
Decision:
We require all single argument constructors to be explicit. Always put explicit
in front of one-argument constructors in the class definition: explicit Foo(string name);
The exception is copy constructors, which, in the rare cases when we allow them, should probably not be explicit
. Classes that are intended to be transparent wrappers around other classes are also exceptions. Such exceptions should be clearly marked with comments.
Copy Constructors
DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN
.
Structs vs. Classes
struct
only for passive objects that carry data; everything else is a
class
.
Inheritance
public
.
Multiple Inheritance
Interface
suffix.
Interfaces
Interface
suffix.
Access Control
private
, and provide access to them through accessor functions as needed (for technical reasons, we allow data members of a test fixture class to be
protected
when using
Google Test). Typically a variable would be called
foo_
and the accessor function
foo()
. You may also want a mutator function
set_foo()
. Exception:
static const
data members (typically called
kFoo
) need not be
private
.
Declaration Order
public:
before
private:
, methods before data members (variables), etc.
Google-Specific Magic
There are various tricks and utilities that we use to make C++ code more robust, and various ways we use C++ that may differ from what you see elsewhere.
Smart Pointers
scoped_ptr
is great. You should only use
std::tr1::shared_ptr
with a non-const referent when it is truly necessary to share ownership of an object (e.g. inside an STL container). You should never use
auto_ptr
.
Other C++ Features
Function Overloading
Default Arguments
Casting
static_cast<>()
. Do not use other cast formats like
int y = (int)x;
or
int y = int(x);
.
Preincrement and Predecrement
++i
) of the increment and decrement operators with iterators and other template objects.
Integer Types
int
. If a program needs a variable of a different size, use a precise-width integer type from
<stdint.h>
, such as
int16_t
.
64-bit Portability
Preprocessor Macros
const
variables to macros.
Naming
The most important consistency rules are those that govern naming. The style of a name immediately informs us what sort of thing the named entity is: a type, a variable, a function, a constant, a macro, etc., without requiring us to search for the declaration of that entity. The pattern-matching engine in our brains relies a great deal on these naming rules.
Naming rules are pretty arbitrary, but we feel that consistency is more important than individual preferences in this area, so regardless of whether you find them sensible or not, the rules are the rules.
General Naming Rules
File Names
_
) or dashes (
-
). Follow the convention that your project uses. If there is no consistent local pattern to follow, prefer "_".
Type Names
MyExcitingClass
,
MyExcitingEnum
.
Variable Names
my_exciting_local_variable
,
my_exciting_member_variable_
.
Function Names
MyExcitingFunction()
,
MyExcitingMethod()
,
my_exciting_member_variable()
,
set_my_exciting_member_variable()
.
Namespace Names
google_awesome_project
.
Macro Names
MY_MACRO_THAT_SCARES_SMALL_CHILDREN
.
Exceptions to Naming Rules
Comments
Though a pain to write, comments are absolutely vital to keeping our code readable. The following rules describe what you should comment and where. But remember: while comments are very important, the best code is self-documenting. Giving sensible names to types and variables is much better than using obscure names that you must then explain through comments.
When writing your comments, write for your audience: the next contributor who will need to understand your code. Be generous — the next one may be you!
File Comments
Class Comments
Function Comments
Variable Comments
Implementation Comments
Punctuation, Spelling and Grammar
TODO Comments
TODO
comments for code that is temporary, a short-term solution, or good-enough but not perfect.
Formatting
Coding style and formatting are pretty arbitrary, but a project is much easier to follow if everyone uses the same style. Individuals may not agree with every aspect of the formatting rules, and some of the rules may take some getting used to, but it is important that all project contributors follow the style rules so that they can all read and understand everyone's code easily.
To help you format code correctly, we've created a settings file for emacs.
Function Declarations and Definitions
Loops and Switch Statements
{}
or
continue
.
Pointer and Reference Expressions
Boolean Expressions
Preprocessor Directives
Constructor Initializer Lists
Horizontal Whitespace
Exceptions to the Rules
The coding conventions described above are mandatory. However, like all good rules, these sometimes have exceptions, which we discuss here.
Existing Non-conformant Code
Windows Code
Parting Words
Use common sense and BE CONSISTENT.
If you are editing code, take a few minutes to look at the code around you and determine its style. If they use spaces around their if
clauses, you should, too. If their comments have little boxes of stars around them, make your comments have little boxes of stars around them too.
The point of having style guidelines is to have a common vocabulary of coding so people can concentrate on what you are saying, rather than on how you are saying it. We present global style rules here so people know the vocabulary. But local style is also important. If code you add to a file looks drastically different from the existing code around it, the discontinuity throws readers out of their rhythm when they go to read it. Try to avoid this.
OK, enough writing about writing code; the code itself is much more interesting. Have fun!
Revision 3.188
Benjy WeinbergerCraig Silverstein
Gregory Eitzmann
Mark Mentovai
Tashana Landray