CHAPTER 3 : General Principles

PART 1 : BASICS

CHAPTER 3 : General Principles

3.1 Keywords

3.2 Think of the reader

3.3 Keep it simple

3.4 Be explicit

3.5 Be consistent

3.6 Minimize scope

3.7 There's no one true style

3.8 A standard which isn't used, isn't a standard

3.9 Distinguish between standards and guidelines

3.10 Standards don't guarantee good coding

3.11 Decide on your portability quotient

3.12 Standards are a function of their audience

3.13 Keep project standards

3.14 Use standard libraries

3.15 Utilize available tools

3.16 Summary

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3.10 Standards don't guarantee good coding

It is possible to have a superb set of standards, fully used, and still be left with unmaintainable code. As in the saying, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," so using standards will not turn a bad programmer into a good programmer.

Standards are a tool to help, not a cure-all with guaranteed results. Properly used, they will help the poor or careless programmer on the road to good programming, and will help good programmers to agree on a consistent approach.

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