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Type:
Improvement
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Resolution: Unresolved
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Priority:
Major - P3
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None
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Affects Version/s: None
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Component/s: None
Introduction
Wiredtiger's current C Style guide doesn't require curly braces for multiline if/for/while statements:
Single statement blocks in conditions and loops do not use braces unless required to avoid ambiguity.
Proposed style change
- If an if, while, or for statement spans more than one line, the body must be enclosed in braces.
- For single-line statements the preferred style is not to use braces but they can be used if it improves readability or expressiveness.
Exceptions
- If for any reason braces can't be used, there must be a comment explaining it.
Rationale
- Helps prevent common mistakes like the dangling else problem.
- Enhances code clarity by making block boundaries explicit.
- Makes code easier to maintain: less chance to introduce an error by adding or removing an adjacent line.
- With auto-formatting, an introduced error can be harder to spot when there are no braces.
Examples
Simple statement
Instead of
if (condition)
myFunction();
use
if (condition) myFunction();
or
if (condition) {
myFunction();
}
Multiline comment
Instead of
if (condition)
/*
* Comment
*/
myFunction();
use
if (condition) {
/*
* Comment
*/
myFunction();
}
If-Else
Instead of
if (condition)
myFunction();
else
myFunction();
use
if (condition) {
myFunction();
} else {
myFunction();
}
Nested statements
Instead of
if (condition1)
if (condition2)
myFunction1();
else /* What is this else even for? */
myFunction2();
for (init; condition1; incr)
if (condition2)
myFunction1();
if (condition1)
while (condition2)
myFunction2();
use
if (condition1) {
if (condition2) {
myFunction1();
}
} else {
myFunction2();
}
for (init; condition1; incr) {
if (condition2) {
myFunction1();
}
}
if (condition1) {
while (condition2) {
myFunction2();
}
}