Computer Science 15-100, Fall 2008
Class Notes:  Style / Code Conventions

Some Style Facts:

• Good style is...
   
  • Both an art and a science.
     
  • Open to some debate, yet mostly agreed upon.
     
  • The product of years of suffering due to bad style.
     
• Good style reduces errors, and...
   
  • Software errors cost the US economy about $60 Billion annually! (source)
     
  • Software errors have resulted in many spectacular failures (source)
     
• Good style reduces maintenance costs, and...
   
  • Only 10% of development costs go into writing code, the other 90% into maintaining it (source)
     
• Good style will...
   
  • Help you get an "A"
     
  • Help you get a "job"
     
  • Help you be happy, healthy, prosperous, and keenly admired by all.

Some Style Guides:

• Sun's Official Code Conventions for the Java Programming Language
   
• Our textbook's Style Guide (See Appendix F)
   
• Our section's 15-111 Style Guide from Spring 2007
   
• Cay Horstmann's Big Java Style Guide
   
• David Barnes + Michael Kölling's Objects First Style Guide
   
• Many, many others...

carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem   -   carpe diem