
This file contains coding guidelines for VMime. You should follow these
guidelines if you want to contribute to VMime. It guarantees some minimal
quality of the code.


1. General guidelines
     1.1. Language
     1.2. Unit tests
     1.3. CVS
     1.4. ChangeLog
     1.5. Warnings
2. Style, indentation and braces
     2.1. Indentation
     2.2. Brace position
     2.3. "switch" statement
     2.4. Single instruction
     2.5. Line length
     2.6. Spaces and parentheses
     2.7. End-of-line character
3. Naming conventions
     3.1. Classes
     3.2. Variables/parameters/member variables
     3.3. Member variables
     3.4. Files
     3.5. Namespaces
4. Comments
5. Miscellaneous



1. General guidelines
=====================

1.1. Language
-------------

The project language is English. All comments, variable names, class names,
commit messages and so on, must be in English.


1.2. Unit tests
---------------

Unit tests are very important. For each new class you write, you should also
write a unit test for it. If you write a new method, add a new test case in
the unit test of the class.

When you fix a bug, also add a new test case to ensure the bug will not
happen anymore.


1.3. CVS
--------

Each commit MUST be done with a message ('-m' flag) that briefly describes what
changes have been done.

DO NOT use commit messages like -m "Updated"!


1.4. ChangeLog
--------------

ChangeLog must be updated when a major change has occured. It is not required
(but not forbidden) to report minor bug fixes in the ChangeLog.

Each ChangeLog entry must have an author and a date.


1.5. Warnings
-------------

The code should compile WITHOUT ANY WARNING, even those for unused parameters!



2. Style, indentation and braces
================================

2.1. Indentation
----------------

Use TABS (ASCII character #9) and _not_ SPACES. This allow everyone to set tab
width to its preferred settings (eg. 4 or 8 spaces).


2.2. Brace position
-------------------

Open braces should always be at the beginning of the line after the statement
that begins the block. Contents of the brace should be indented by 1 tab.

   if (expr)
   {
         do_something();
         do_another_thing();
   }
   else
   {
         do_something_else();
   }


2.3. "switch" statement
-----------------------

   switch (expr)
   {
   case 0:

        something;
        break;

   case 1:

        something_else;
        break;

   case 2:
   {
        int var = 42;
        another_thing;
        break;
   }

   }


2.4. Single instruction
-----------------------

Omit braces around simple single-statement body:

   if (...)
      something;

and not:

   if (...)
   {
      something;
   }

Except when body spans over multiple lines:

   if (...)
   {
      something_too_long_for(
         a_single_line);
   }


2.5. Line length
----------------

Line length should not exceed 80 characters.


2.6. Spaces and parentheses
---------------------------

Put spaces around operators: =, >, <, !=, +, -, /, *, ^, %, ||, &&, &, |:

    x = (a * (b + (c - d)))

Do not put spaces around parentheses.

    if ((a == b) || (c == d))

Do not put spaces around "->":

    object->method()

Do not put spaces inside brackets:

    x = array[index]     and _NOT_:    x = array[ index ]

Do not use space between a function name and parenthesis. No extra spaces
between parameters and arguments, just after commas:

    method(arg1, arg2, ...)

Do use a single space before flow control statements:

    while (x == y)     and _NOT_:    while(x==y)


2.7. End-of-line character
--------------------------

Configure your editor to use "\n" (UNIX convention) for end-of-line sequence,
and not "\r\n" (Windows), nor "\n\r", nor any other combination.



3. Naming conventions
=====================

3.1. Classes
------------

Classes names are in lower-case. However, each word should start with an
upper-case letter.

Examples: "object", "exampleClass", "anotherExampleClass"...


3.2. Variables/parameters/member variables
------------------------------------------

Variable names should be enough explicit so that someone reading the code can
instantly understand what the variable contains and is used for.

Variables names are in lower-case.

DO NOT use Hungarian notation.

Examples: "address", "recipientMailbox", ...

Avoid variable names with less than 5 characters, except for loop indices and
iterators.

NOTE: variable names like "it", "jt" and so on are commonly used when iterating
over STL containers.


3.3. Member variables
---------------------

Use a prefix for class members: "m_" for normal class members, and "sm_" for
static members, if they are not public.

Examples: "m_mailboxList", "sm_instance"...


3.4. Files
----------

Use ".hpp" for header files, and ".cpp" for implementation files. ".inc" should
be used for implementation files not directly compiled, but included from
other implementation files.

Files have to be named exactly like the class they define. For example, class
"mailboxList" should be declared in "mailboxList.hpp" and implemented in
"mailboxList.cpp".

Header files must be placed in 'vmime/' directory.
Implementation files must be placed in 'src/' directory.


3.5. Namespaces
---------------

Namespaces are named exactly like variables.



4. Comments
===========

The // (two slashes) style of comment tags should be used in most situations.
Where ever possible, place comments above the code instead of beside it.

Comments can be placed at the end of a line when one or more spaces follow.
Tabs should NOT be used to indent at the end of a line:

   class myClass
   {
   private:

       int m_member1;         // first member
       int m_secondMember;    // second member
   };



5. Miscellaneous
================

* No code should be put in header files, only declarations (except for
  templates).

* Try to avoid public member variables. Write accessors instead (get/set).

* Do NOT use 'using namespace'. All namespaces should be explicitely named.

* Use the 'get' and 'set' prefix for accessors:

     Variable:    m_foo
     Get method:  getFoo()
     Set method:  setFoo()

* No more than one class per file (except for inner classes).

* Put the inclusion for the class's header file as the first inclusion in
  the implementation file.

* Put the copyright header at the top of each file.

* Write "unique inclusion #ifdef's" for header files:

     #ifndef N1_N2_FILENAME_HPP_INCLUDED
     #define N1_N2_FILENAME_HPP_INCLUDED

     // ...

     #endif // N1_N2_FILENAME_HPP_INCLUDED

  where N1 is the top-level namespace, N2 the sub-namespace, and so on.
  For example, class "vmime::utility::stringUtils" uses the following
  #ifdef name: VMIME_UTILITY_STRINGUTILS_HPP_INCLUDED.

