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

DO

// P.10 + I.4: Immutable, strongly typed interface
struct Temperature {
    double kelvin;
};

Temperature boil(const Temperature& water);

DON'T

// Weak interface: unclear ownership, unclear units
double boil(double* temp);

// Non-const global variable
int g_counter = 0;  // I.2 violation

Functions (F.*)

Key Rules

Parameter Passing

// F.16: Cheap types by value, others by const&
void print(int x);                           // cheap: by value
void analyze(const std::string& data);       // expensive: by const&
void transform(std::string s);               // sink: by value (will move)

// F.20 + F.21: Return values, not output parameters
struct ParseResult {
    std::string token;
    int position;
};

ParseResult parse(std::string_view input);   // GOOD: return struct

// BAD: output parameters
void parse(std::string_view input,
           std::string& token, int& pos);    // avoid this

Pure Functions and constexpr

// F.4 + F.8: Pure, constexpr where possible
constexpr int factorial(int n) noexcept {
    return (n <= 1) ? 1 : n * factorial(n - 1);
}

static_assert(factorial(5) == 120);

Anti-Patterns

• Returning T&& from functions (F.45)
• Using va_arg / C-style variadics (F.55)
• Capturing by reference in lambdas passed to other threads (F.53)
• Returning const T which inhibits move semantics (F.49)

Classes & Class Hierarchies (C.*)

Key Rules

Rule of Zero

// C.20: Let the compiler generate special members
struct Employee {
    std::string name;
    std::string department;
    int id;
    // No destructor, copy/move constructors, or assignment operators needed
};

Rule of Five

// C.21: If you must manage a resource, define all five
class Buffer {
public:
    explicit Buffer(std::size_t size)
        : data_(std::make_unique<char[]>(size)), size_(size) {}

    ~Buffer() = default;

    Buffer(const Buffer& other)
        : data_(std::make_unique<char[]>(other.size_)), size_(other.size_) {
        std::copy_n(other.data_.get(), size_, data_.get());
    }

    Buffer& operator=(const Buffer& other) {
        if (this != &other) {
            auto new_data = std::make_unique<char[]>(other.size_);
            std::copy_n(other.data_.get(), other.size_, new_data.get());
            data_ = std::move(new_data);
            size_ = other.size_;
        }
        return *this;
    }

    Buffer(Buffer&&) noexcept = default;
    Buffer& operator=(Buffer&&) noexcept = default;

private:
    std::unique_ptr<char[]> data_;
    std::size_t size_;
};

Class Hierarchy

// C.35 + C.128: Virtual destructor, use override
class Shape {
public:
    virtual ~Shape() = default;
    virtual double area() const = 0;  // C.121: pure interface
};

class Circle : public Shape {
public:
    explicit Circle(double r) : radius_(r) {}
    double area() const override { return 3.14159 * radius_ * radius_; }

private:
    double radius_;
};

Anti-Patterns

• Calling virtual functions in constructors/destructors (C.82)
• Using memset/memcpy on non-trivial types (C.90)
• Providing different default arguments for virtual function and overrider (C.140)
• Making data members const or references, which suppresses move/copy (C.12)

Resource Management (R.*)

Key Rules

Smart Pointer Usage

// R.11 + R.20 + R.21: RAII with smart pointers
auto widget = std::make_unique<Widget>("config");  // unique ownership
auto cache  = std::make_shared<Cache>(1024);        // shared ownership

// R.3: Raw pointer = non-owning observer
void render(const Widget* w) {  // does NOT own w
    if (w) w->draw();
}

render(widget.get());

RAII Pattern

// R.1: Resource acquisition is initialization
class FileHandle {
public:
    explicit FileHandle(const std::string& path)
        : handle_(std::fopen(path.c_str(), "r")) {
        if (!handle_) throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open: " + path);
    }

    ~FileHandle() {
        if (handle_) std::fclose(handle_);
    }

    FileHandle(const FileHandle&) = delete;
    FileHandle& operator=(const FileHandle&) = delete;
    FileHandle(FileHandle&& other) noexcept
        : handle_(std::exchange(other.handle_, nullptr)) {}
    FileHandle& operator=(FileHandle&& other) noexcept {
        if (this != &other) {
            if (handle_) std::fclose(handle_);
            handle_ = std::exchange(other.handle_, nullptr);
        }
        return *this;
    }

private:
    std::FILE* handle_;
};

Anti-Patterns

• Naked new/delete (R.11)
• malloc()/free() in C++ code (R.10)
• Multiple resource allocations in a single expression (R.13 -- exception safety hazard)
• shared_ptr where unique_ptr suffices (R.21)

Expressions & Statements (ES.*)

Key Rules

Initialization

// ES.20 + ES.23 + ES.25: Always initialize, prefer {}, default to const
const int max_retries{3};
const std::string name{"widget"};
const std::vector<int> primes{2, 3, 5, 7, 11};

// ES.28: Lambda for complex const initialization
const auto config = [&] {
    Config c;
    c.timeout = std::chrono::seconds{30};
    c.retries = max_retries;
    c.verbose = debug_mode;
    return c;
}();

Anti-Patterns

• Uninitialized variables (ES.20)
• Using 0 or NULL as pointer (ES.47 -- use nullptr)
• C-style casts (ES.48 -- use static_cast, const_cast, etc.)
• Casting away const (ES.50)
• Magic numbers without named constants (ES.45)
• Mixing signed and unsigned arithmetic (ES.100)
• Reusing names in nested scopes (ES.12)

Error Handling (E.*)

Key Rules

Exception Hierarchy

// E.14 + E.15: Custom exception types, throw by value, catch by reference
class AppError : public std::runtime_error {
public:
    using std::runtime_error::runtime_error;
};

class NetworkError : public AppError {
public:
    NetworkError(const std::string& msg, int code)
        : AppError(msg), status_code(code) {}
    int status_code;
};

void fetch_data(const std::string& url) {
    // E.2: Throw to signal failure
    throw NetworkError("connection refused", 503);
}

void run() {
    try {
        fetch_data("https://api.example.com");
    } catch (const NetworkError& e) {
        log_error(e.what(), e.status_code);
    } catch (const AppError& e) {
        log_error(e.what());
    }
    // E.17: Don't catch everything here -- let unexpected errors propagate
}

Anti-Patterns

• Throwing built-in types like int or string literals (E.14)
• Catching by value (slicing risk) (E.15)
• Empty catch blocks that silently swallow errors
• Using exceptions for flow control (E.3)
• Error handling based on global state like errno (E.28)

Constants & Immutability (Con.*)

All Rules

// Con.1 through Con.5: Immutability by default
class Sensor {
public:
    explicit Sensor(std::string id) : id_(std::move(id)) {}

    // Con.2: const member functions by default
    const std::string& id() const { return id_; }
    double last_reading() const { return reading_; }

    // Only non-const when mutation is required
    void record(double value) { reading_ = value; }

private:
    const std::string id_;  // Con.4: never changes after construction
    double reading_{0.0};
};

// Con.3: Pass by const reference
void display(const Sensor& s) {
    std::cout << s.id() << ": " << s.last_reading() << '\n';
}

// Con.5: Compile-time constants
constexpr double PI = 3.14159265358979;
constexpr int MAX_SENSORS = 256;

Concurrency & Parallelism (CP.*)

Key Rules

Safe Locking

// CP.20 + CP.44: RAII locks, always named
class ThreadSafeQueue {
public:
    void push(int value) {
        std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mutex_);  // CP.44: named!
        queue_.push(value);
        cv_.notify_one();
    }

    int pop() {
        std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(mutex_);
        // CP.42: Always wait with a condition
        cv_.wait(lock, [this] { return !queue_.empty(); });
        const int value = queue_.front();
        queue_.pop();
        return value;
    }

private:
    std::mutex mutex_;             // CP.50: mutex with its data
    std::condition_variable cv_;
    std::queue<int> queue_;
};

Multiple Mutexes

// CP.21: std::scoped_lock for multiple mutexes (deadlock-free)
void transfer(Account& from, Account& to, double amount) {
    std::scoped_lock lock(from.mutex_, to.mutex_);
    from.balance_ -= amount;
    to.balance_ += amount;
}

Anti-Patterns

• volatile for synchronization (CP.8 -- it's for hardware I/O only)
• Detaching threads (CP.26 -- lifetime management becomes nearly impossible)
• Unnamed lock guards: std::lock_guard<std::mutex>(m); destroys immediately (CP.44)
• Holding locks while calling callbacks (CP.22 -- deadlock risk)
• Lock-free programming without deep expertise (CP.100)

Templates & Generic Programming (T.*)

Key Rules

Concepts (C++20)

#include <concepts>

// T.10 + T.11: Constrain templates with standard concepts
template<std::integral T>
T gcd(T a, T b) {
    while (b != 0) {
        a = std::exchange(b, a % b);
    }
    return a;
}

// T.13: Shorthand concept syntax
void sort(std::ranges::random_access_range auto& range) {
    std::ranges::sort(range);
}

// Custom concept for domain-specific constraints
template<typename T>
concept Serializable = requires(const T& t) {
    { t.serialize() } -> std::convertible_to<std::string>;
};

template<Serializable T>
void save(const T& obj, const std::string& path);

Anti-Patterns

• Unconstrained templates in visible namespaces (T.47)
• Specializing function templates instead of overloading (T.144)
• Template metaprogramming where constexpr suffices (T.120)
• typedef instead of using (T.43)

Standard Library (SL.*)

Key Rules

// SL.con.1 + SL.con.2: Prefer vector/array over C arrays
const std::array<int, 4> fixed_data{1, 2, 3, 4};
std::vector<std::string> dynamic_data;

// SL.str.1 + SL.str.2: string owns, string_view observes
std::string build_greeting(std::string_view name) {
    return "Hello, " + std::string(name) + "!";
}

// SL.io.50: Use '\n' not endl
std::cout << "result: " << value << '\n';

Enumerations (Enum.*)

Key Rules

// Enum.3 + Enum.5: Scoped enum, no ALL_CAPS
enum class Color { red, green, blue };
enum class LogLevel { debug, info, warning, error };

// BAD: plain enum leaks names, ALL_CAPS clashes with macros
enum { RED, GREEN, BLUE };           // Enum.3 + Enum.5 + Enum.6 violation
#define MAX_SIZE 100                  // Enum.1 violation -- use constexpr

Source Files & Naming (SF., NL.)

Key Rules

Header Guard

// SF.8: Include guard (or #pragma once)
#ifndef PROJECT_MODULE_WIDGET_H
#define PROJECT_MODULE_WIDGET_H

// SF.11: Self-contained -- include everything this header needs
#include <string>
#include <vector>

namespace project::module {

class Widget {
public:
    explicit Widget(std::string name);
    const std::string& name() const;

private:
    std::string name_;
};

}  // namespace project::module

#endif  // PROJECT_MODULE_WIDGET_H

Naming Conventions

// NL.8 + NL.10: Consistent underscore_style
namespace my_project {

constexpr int max_buffer_size = 4096;  // NL.9: not ALL_CAPS (it's not a macro)

class tcp_connection {                 // underscore_style class
public:
    void send_message(std::string_view msg);
    bool is_connected() const;

private:
    std::string host_;                 // trailing underscore for members
    int port_;
};

}  // namespace my_project

Anti-Patterns

• using namespace std; in a header at global scope (SF.7)
• Headers that depend on inclusion order (SF.10, SF.11)
• Hungarian notation like strName, iCount (NL.5)
• ALL_CAPS for anything other than macros (NL.9)

Performance (Per.*)

Key Rules

Guidelines

// Per.11: Compile-time computation where possible
constexpr auto lookup_table = [] {
    std::array<int, 256> table{};
    for (int i = 0; i < 256; ++i) {
        table[i] = i * i;
    }
    return table;
}();

// Per.19: Prefer contiguous data for cache-friendliness
std::vector<Point> points;           // GOOD: contiguous
std::vector<std::unique_ptr<Point>> indirect_points; // BAD: pointer chasing

Anti-Patterns

• Optimizing without profiling data (Per.1, Per.6)
• Choosing "clever" low-level code over clear abstractions (Per.4, Per.5)
• Ignoring data layout and cache behavior (Per.19)

Quick Reference Checklist

Before marking C++ work complete:

• No raw new/delete -- use smart pointers or RAII (R.11)
• Objects initialized at declaration (ES.20)
• Variables are const/constexpr by default (Con.1, ES.25)
• Member functions are const where possible (Con.2)
• enum class instead of plain enum (Enum.3)
• nullptr instead of 0/NULL (ES.47)
• No narrowing conversions (ES.46)
• No C-style casts (ES.48)
• Single-argument constructors are explicit (C.46)
• Rule of Zero or Rule of Five applied (C.20, C.21)
• Base class destructors are public virtual or protected non-virtual (C.35)
• Templates are constrained with concepts (T.10)
• No using namespace in headers at global scope (SF.7)
• Headers have include guards and are self-contained (SF.8, SF.11)
• Locks use RAII (scoped_lock/lock_guard) (CP.20)
• Exceptions are custom types, thrown by value, caught by reference (E.14, E.15)
• '\n' instead of std::endl (SL.io.50)
• No magic numbers (ES.45)