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<section id="c-coding-style">
<h1>C Coding Style<a class="headerlink" href="#c-coding-style" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h1>
<p>This document presents the preferred coding style for C programs in GNOME.</p>
<p>While coding style is very much a matter of taste, in GNOME we favor a coding
style that promotes consistency, readability, and maintainability.</p>
<p>We present examples of good coding style as well as examples of bad style that
is not acceptable in GNOME. Please try to submit patches that conform to GNOMEs
coding style; this indicates that you have done your homework to respect the
projects goal of long-term maintainability. Patches with GNOMEs coding style
will also be easier to review!</p>
<div class="admonition important">
<p class="admonition-title">Important</p>
<p>This document is intended for C code. Unlike C, other programming languages
have their own official coding style recommendations; we encourage you to
follow them wherever applicable.</p>
</div>
<p>These guidelines are heavily inspired by the GTK coding style document; the
Linux kernel coding style; and the GNU coding standards. These are slight
variations of each other, with particular modifications for each projects
particular needs and culture, and GNOMEs version is no different.</p>
<section id="the-single-most-important-rule">
<h2>The single most important rule<a class="headerlink" href="#the-single-most-important-rule" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>The single most important rule when writing code is this: <strong>check the surrounding
code and try to imitate it</strong>.</p>
<p>As a maintainer it is dismaying to receive a patch that is obviously in a
different coding style to the surrounding code. This is disrespectful, like
someone tromping into a spotlessly-clean house with muddy shoes.</p>
<p>So, whatever this document recommends, if there is already written code and you
are contributing to it, keep its current style consistent even if it is not your
favorite style.</p>
<p>Most importantly, do not make your first contribution to a project a change in
the coding style to suit your taste. That is <em>incredibly</em> disrespectful.</p>
</section>
<section id="line-width">
<h2>Line width<a class="headerlink" href="#line-width" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Try to use lines of code between 80 and 120 characters long. This amount of text
is easy to fit in most monitors with a decent font size. Lines longer than that
become hard to read, and they mean that you should probably restructure your
code. If you have too many levels of indentation, it means that you should fix
your code anyway.</p>
</section>
<section id="indentation">
<h2>Indentation<a class="headerlink" href="#indentation" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>In general there are two preferred indentation styles for code in GNOME:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li><p>Linux Kernel style. Tabs with a length of 8 characters are used for the
indentation, with K&amp;R brace placement:</p></li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">for</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&lt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">num_elements</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="o">++</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">42</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&lt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">35</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">printf</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">&quot;Foo!&quot;</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="o">--</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">else</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">printf</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">&quot;Bar!&quot;</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="o">++</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<ol class="arabic simple" start="2">
<li><p>GNU style. Each new level is indented by 2 spaces, braces go on a line by
themselves, and they are indented as well:</p></li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">for</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&lt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">num_elements</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">i</span><span class="o">++</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">+</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">42</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&lt;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">35</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">printf</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">&quot;Foo!&quot;</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="o">--</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">printf</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s">&quot;Bar!&quot;</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="n">i</span><span class="p">]</span><span class="o">++</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Both styles have their pros and cons. The most important things is to <em>be
consistent with the surrounding code</em>. For example, the GTK library, which is
GNOMEs widget toolkit, is written with the GNU style. Nautilus, GNOMEs file
manager, is written in Linux kernel style. Both styles are perfectly readable
and consistent when you get used to them.</p>
<p>Your first feeling when having to study or work on a piece of code that doesnt
have your preferred indentation style may be, how shall we put it,
gut-wrenching. You should resist your inclination to reindent everything, or to
use an inconsistent style for your patch. Remember the first rule: be consistent
and respectful of that codes customs, and your patches will have a much higher
chance of being accepted without a lot of arguing about the right indentation
style.</p>
<section id="tab-characters">
<h3>Tab characters<a class="headerlink" href="#tab-characters" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h3>
<p><em>Do not ever change the size of tabs in your editor</em>; leave them as 8 spaces.
Changing the size of tabs means that code that you didnt write yourself will be
perpetually misaligned.</p>
<p>Instead, set the indentation size as appropriate for the code you are editing.
When writing in something other than Linux kernel style, you may even want to
tell your editor to automatically convert all tabs to 8 spaces, so that there is
no ambiguity about the intended amount of space.</p>
</section>
</section>
<section id="braces">
<h2>Braces<a class="headerlink" href="#braces" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Curly braces should not be used for single statement blocks:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">arg1</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The “no block for single statements” rule has only four exceptions:</p>
<ol class="arabic simple">
<li><p>In GNU style, if either side of an <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">if</span></code><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">else</span></code> statement has braces, both
sides should, to match up indentation:</p></li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">baz</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<ol class="arabic simple" start="2">
<li><p>If the single statement covers multiple lines, e.g. for functions with many
arguments, and it is followed by <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">else</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">else</span> <span class="pre">if</span></code>:</p></li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid Linux kernel style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a_single_statement_with_many_arguments</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">some_lengthy_argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_lengthy_argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">and_another_one</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">plus_one</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">arg1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">arg2</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="cm">/* valid GNU style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a_single_statement_with_many_arguments</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">some_lengthy_argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_lengthy_argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">and_another_one</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">plus_one</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">arg1</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">arg2</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<ol class="arabic simple" start="3">
<li><p>If the condition is composed of many lines:</p></li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid Linux kernel style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&amp;&amp;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">condition3</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">condition4</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition5</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&amp;&amp;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition6</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">condition7</span><span class="p">)))</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="cm">/* valid GNU style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&amp;&amp;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">condition3</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">condition4</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition5</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&amp;&amp;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition6</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">||</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">condition7</span><span class="p">)))</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">a_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Such long conditions are usually hard to understand. A good practice is to
set the condition to a boolean variable, with a good name for that variable.
Another way is to move the long condition to a function.</p>
</div>
<ol class="arabic simple" start="4">
<li><p>Nested <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">if</span></code>, in which case the block should be placed on the outermost <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">if</span></code>:</p></li>
</ol>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid Linux kernel style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">another_condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="cm">/* valid GNU style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">another_condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">else</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_single_statement</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>In general, new blocks should be placed on a new indentation level, like this:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kt">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">retval</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="n">statement_1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="n">statement_2</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">var1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">42</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gboolean</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">res</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">FALSE</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">res</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">statement_3</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">var1</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">retval</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">res</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">?</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">-1</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">:</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>While curly braces for function definitions should rest on a new line they
should not add an indentation level:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid Linux kernel style*/</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">static</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="nf">my_function</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="kt">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">argument</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_my_things</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="cm">/* valid GNU style*/</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">static</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="nf">my_function</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="kt">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">argument</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_my_things</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</section>
<section id="conditions">
<h2>Conditions<a class="headerlink" href="#conditions" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Do not check boolean values for equality. By using implicit comparisons, the
resulting code can be read more like conversational English. Another rationale
is that a true value may not be necessarily equal to whatever the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">TRUE</span></code>
macro uses. For example:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">found</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="o">!</span><span class="n">found</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The C language uses the value <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">0</span></code> for many purposes. As a numeric value, the
end of a string, a null pointer and the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">FALSE</span></code> boolean. To make the code
clearer, you should write code that highlights the specific way <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">0</span></code> is used.
So when reading a comparison, it is possible to know the variable type. For
boolean variables, an implicit comparison is appropriate because its already a
logical expression. Other variable types are not logical expressions by
themselves, so an explicit comparison is better:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">some_pointer</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">==</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nb">NULL</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_blah</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">number</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">==</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">str</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">!=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nb">NULL</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">&amp;&amp;</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">str</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">!=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="sc">&#39;\0&#39;</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</section>
<section id="functions">
<h2>Functions<a class="headerlink" href="#functions" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Functions should be declared by placing the returned value on a separate line from the function name:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="nf">my_function</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="c1">// ...</span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The argument list must be broken into a new line for each argument, with the
argument names right aligned, taking into account pointers:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="nf">my_function</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">some_type_t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">type</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_type_t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">a_pointer</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">double_ptr_t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">**</span><span class="n">double_pointer</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">final_type_t</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">another_type</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="c1">// ...</span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition tip">
<p class="admonition-title">Tip</p>
<p>If you use Emacs, you can use <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">M-x</span> <span class="pre">align</span></code> to do this kind of alignment
automatically. Just put the point and mark around the functions prototype,
and invoke that command.</p>
</div>
<p>The alignment also holds when invoking a function without breaking the line
length limit:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">align_function_arguments</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">first_argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">second_argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">third_argument</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</section>
<section id="whitespace">
<h2>Whitespace<a class="headerlink" href="#whitespace" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Always put a space before an opening parenthesis but never after:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_my_things</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">switch</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>When declaring a structure type use newlines to separate logical sections of the
structure:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nc">_GtkWrapBoxPrivate</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkOrientation</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">orientation</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkWrapAllocationMode</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">mode</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkWrapBoxSpreading</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">horizontal_spreading</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkWrapBoxSpreading</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">vertical_spreading</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">guint16</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">spacing</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">2</span><span class="p">];</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">guint16</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">minimum_line_children</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">guint16</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">natural_line_children</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GList</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">children</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">};</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Do <strong>not</strong> eliminate whitespace and newlines just because something would fit on
a single line:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* invalid */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">if</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">else</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Do eliminate trailing whitespace on any line, preferably as a separate patch or
commit. Never use empty lines at the beginning or at the end of a file.</p>
</section>
<section id="the-switch-statement">
<h2>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">switch</span></code> statement<a class="headerlink" href="#the-switch-statement" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>A <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">switch</span></code> should open a block on a new indentation level, and each case
should start on the same indentation level as the curly braces, with the case
block on a new indentation level:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cm">/* valid Linux kernel style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">switch</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">FOO</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">BAR</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="cm">/* valid GNU style */</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">switch</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">FOO</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">BAR</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">default</span><span class="o">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_default</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition tip">
<p class="admonition-title">Tip</p>
<p>It is preferable, though not mandatory, to separate the various cases with a
newline.</p>
</div>
<div class="admonition tip">
<p class="admonition-title">Tip</p>
<p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">break</span></code> statement for the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">default</span></code> case is not mandatory.</p>
</div>
<p>If switching over an enumerated type, a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">case</span></code> statement must exist for every
member of the enumerated type. For members you do not want to handle, alias
their case statements to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">default</span></code>:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">switch</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">enumerated_condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">HANDLED_1</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">HANDLED_2</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_bar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">IGNORED_1</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">IGNORED_2</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">default</span><span class="o">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_default</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition tip">
<p class="admonition-title">Tip</p>
<p>If most members of the enumerated type should not be handled, consider using an
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">if</span></code><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">else</span> <span class="pre">if</span></code> statement instead of a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">switch</span></code>.</p>
</div>
<p>If a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">case</span></code> block needs to declare new variables, the same rules as the inner
blocks apply (see above); the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">break</span></code> statement should be placed outside of
the inner block:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">switch</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">condition</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">case</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="no">FOO</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">=</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">do_foo</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">();</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">break</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="c1">// ...</span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="p">}</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</section>
<section id="header-files">
<h2>Header files<a class="headerlink" href="#header-files" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>The only major rule for headers is that the function definitions should be
vertically aligned in three columns:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">return_type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">function_name</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">argument</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">type</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">argument</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The maximum width of each column is given by the longest element in the column:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">gtk_type_set_property</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkType</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">type</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="k">const</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">char</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">value</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GError</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">**</span><span class="n">error</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">const</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">char</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="nf">gtk_type_get_property</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkType</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">type</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>It is also possible to align the columns to the next tab, to avoid having to
reformat headers every time you add a new function:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">gtk_type_set_prop</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkType</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">type</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">float</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">value</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="kt">float</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">gtk_type_get_prop</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkType</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">type</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="kt">int</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nf">gtk_type_update_foobar</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkType</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">type</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>If you are creating a public library, try to export a single public header file
that in turn includes all the smaller header files into it. This is so that
public headers are never included directly; rather a single include is used in
applications. For example, GTK uses the following in its header files that
should not be included directly by applications:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="c1">// The __GTK_H_INSIDE__ symbol is defined in the gtk.h header</span>
<span class="c1">// The GTK_COMPILATION symbol is defined only when compiling</span>
<span class="c1">// GTK itself</span>
<span class="cp">#if !defined (__GTK_H_INSIDE__) &amp;&amp; !defined (GTK_COMPILATION)</span>
<span class="cp">#error &quot;Only &lt;gtk/gtk.h&gt; can be included directly.&quot;</span>
<span class="cp">#endif</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>For libraries, all headers should have inclusion guards (for internal usage) and
C++ guards. These provide the extern “C” magic that C++ requires to include
plain C headers:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cp">#pragma once</span>
<span class="cp">#include</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="cpf">&lt;gtk/gtk.h&gt;</span><span class="cp"></span>
<span class="n">G_BEGIN_DECLS</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="c1">// ...</span>
<span class="n">G_END_DECLS</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<div class="admonition tip">
<p class="admonition-title">Tip</p>
<p>Instead of the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">once</span></code> pragma you can use an explicit symbol-based
inclusion guard: <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">#ifndef</span> <span class="pre">FILE_H</span> <span class="pre">#define</span> <span class="pre">FILE_H</span> <span class="pre">...</span> <span class="pre">#endif</span></code>.</p>
</div>
</section>
<section id="gobject-classes">
<h2>GObject classes<a class="headerlink" href="#gobject-classes" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>GObject class definitions and implementations require some additional coding
style notices, and should always be correctly namespaced.</p>
<p>Type declarations should be placed at the beginning of the file:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">typedef</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nc">_GtkBoxedStruct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkBoxedStruct</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">typedef</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nc">_GtkMoreBoxedStruct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkMoreBoxedStruct</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>This includes enumeration types:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">typedef</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="k">enum</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GTK_SIZE_REQUEST_WIDTH_FOR_HEIGHT</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GTK_SIZE_REQUEST_HEIGHT_FOR_WIDTH</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">}</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkSizeRequestMode</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>And callback types:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">typedef</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="o">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkCallback</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkWidget</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">widget</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gpointer</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">user_data</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Instance structures should be declared using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DECLARE_FINAL_TYPE()</span></code> or
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DECLARE_DERIVABLE_TYPE()</span></code> macros:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cp">#define GTK_TYPE_FOO (gtk_foo_get_type ())</span>
<span class="n">G_DECLARE_FINAL_TYPE</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkFoo</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gtk_foo</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GTK</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">FOO</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkWidget</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>For final types, private data can be stored in the object struct, which should
be defined in the C file:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nc">_GtkFoo</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GObject</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">parent_instance</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">guint</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">private_data</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gpointer</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">more_private_data</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">};</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>For derivable types, private data must be stored in a private struct in the C
file, configured using <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_TYPE_WITH_PRIVATE()</span></code> and accessed using the
generated <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">_get_instance_private()</span></code> function:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cp">#define GTK_TYPE_FOO gtk_foo_get_type()</span>
<span class="n">G_DECLARE_DERIVABLE_TYPE</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkFoo</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gtk_foo</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GTK</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">FOO</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkWidget</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="k">struct</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="nc">_GtkFooClass</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">{</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GtkWidgetClass</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">parent_class</span><span class="p">;</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="kt">void</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="o">*</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">handle_frob</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkFrobber</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="o">*</span><span class="n">frobber</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">guint</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">n_frobs</span><span class="p">);</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="c1">// Padding, for ABI compatible expansion of the class</span>
<span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gpointer</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">padding</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">12</span><span class="p">];</span><span class="w"></span>
<span class="p">};</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>Always use the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_TYPE()</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_TYPE_WITH_PRIVATE()</span></code>, and
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_TYPE_WITH_CODE()</span></code> macros, or their abstract variants
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_ABSTRACT_TYPE()</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_ABSTRACT_TYPE_WITH_PRIVATE()</span></code>, and
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DEFINE_ABSTRACT_TYPE_WITH_CODE()</span></code>; also, use the similar macros for
defining interfaces and boxed types.</p>
<p>Interfaces should be declared using the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">G_DECLARE_INTERFACE()</span></code> macro:</p>
<div class="highlight-c notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="cp">#define GTK_TYPE_FOOABLE gtk_fooable_get_type()</span>
<span class="n">G_DECLARE_INTERFACE</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">GtkFooable</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">gtk_fooable</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GTK</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">FOOABLE</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="w"> </span><span class="n">GObject</span><span class="p">)</span><span class="w"></span>
</pre></div>
</div>
</section>
<section id="memory-allocation">
<h2>Memory allocation<a class="headerlink" href="#memory-allocation" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>When dynamically allocating data on the heap use <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">g_new()</span></code>.</p>
<p>Public structure types should always be returned after being zero-ed, either
explicitly for each member, or by using <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">g_new0()</span></code>.</p>
</section>
<section id="macros">
<h2>Macros<a class="headerlink" href="#macros" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Try to avoid private macros unless strictly necessary. Remember to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">#undef</span></code>
them at the end of a block or a series of functions needing them.</p>
<p>Inline functions are usually preferable to private macros.</p>
<p>Public macros should not be used unless they evaluate to a constant.</p>
</section>
<section id="public-api">
<h2>Public API<a class="headerlink" href="#public-api" title="Permalink to this headline">#</a></h2>
<p>Avoid exporting variables as public API, since this is cumbersome on some
platforms. It is always preferable to add getters and setters instead. Also,
beware global variables in general.</p>
<p>To avoid exposing private API in the shared library, it is recommended to
default to a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">hidden</span></code> symbol visibility, and explicitly annotate public
symbols in the header file.</p>
<p>Non-exported functions that are only needed in one source file should be
declared <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">static</span></code> to that file.</p>
</section>
</section>
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Contents
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<ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#">C Coding Style</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-single-most-important-rule">The single most important rule</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#line-width">Line width</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#indentation">Indentation</a><ul>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#tab-characters">Tab characters</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#braces">Braces</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#conditions">Conditions</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#functions">Functions</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#whitespace">Whitespace</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#the-switch-statement">The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">switch</span></code> statement</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#header-files">Header files</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#gobject-classes">GObject classes</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#memory-allocation">Memory allocation</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#macros">Macros</a></li>
<li><a class="reference internal" href="#public-api">Public API</a></li>
</ul>
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