cpp-coding-standards

C++ Coding Standards (C++ Core Guidelines)

Comprehensive coding standards for modern C++ (C++17/20/23) derived from the C++ Core Guidelines. Enforces type safety, resource safety, immutability, and clarity.

When to Use

• Writing new C++ code (classes, functions, templates)
• Reviewing or refactoring existing C++ code
• Making architectural decisions in C++ projects
• Enforcing consistent style across a C++ codebase
• Choosing between language features (e.g., enum vs enum class, raw pointer vs smart pointer)

When NOT to Use

• Non-C++ projects
• Legacy C codebases that cannot adopt modern C++ features
• Embedded/bare-metal contexts where specific guidelines conflict with hardware constraints (adapt selectively)

Cross-Cutting Principles

These themes recur across the entire guidelines and form the foundation:

1. RAII everywhere (P.8, R.1, E.6, CP.20): Bind resource lifetime to object lifetime
2. Immutability by default (P.10, Con.1-5, ES.25): Start with const/constexpr; mutability is the exception
3. Type safety (P.4, I.4, ES.46-49, Enum.3): Use the type system to prevent errors at compile time
4. Express intent (P.3, F.1, NL.1-2, T.10): Names, types, and concepts should communicate purpose
5. Minimize complexity (F.2-3, ES.5, Per.4-5): Simple code is correct code
6. Value semantics over pointer semantics (C.10, R.3-5, F.20, CP.31): Prefer returning by value and scoped objects

Philosophy & Interfaces (P., I.)

Key Rules

Rule	Summary
P.1	Express ideas directly in code
P.3	Express intent
P.4	Ideally, a program should be statically type safe
P.5	Prefer compile-time checking to run-time checking
P.8	Don't leak any resources
P.10	Prefer immutable data to mutable data
I.1	Make interfaces explicit
I.2	Avoid non-const global variables
I.4	Make interfaces precisely and strongly typed
I.11	Never transfer ownership by a raw pointer or reference
I.23	Keep the number of function arguments low