Format Checker

Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute.

— H. Abelson and G. Sussman
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

Background 

Most programming languages promote a uniform style for formatting code, either with style guide documents (e.g. Python’s PEP 8) or utilities (aka “linters”).

THT goes a step further. It has a Format Checker that identifies issues at compile time.

The format rules were collected from the most commonly used style guides for comparable languages (typically Java & JavaScript).

Benefits

• Clean, consistent code is easier to read & understand.
• Clean code is more enjoyable to work with.
• Clean code is less prone to bugs.
• Sharing code online is easier.
• Novices will learn best practices quicker.
• Teams will spend less time debating what rules to follow.
• No extra steps in the build process to setup and configure.

Formatting Rules 

Using conventions frees your brain from the mundane aspects of programming, which offer little payback.

— Steve McConnell, Code Complete

General

• No lines over 100 characters long. Exceptions are multi-line strings and template functions.
• UNIX newlines. Line endings should be set to LF (UNIX). Not CRLF (Windows).
• UTF-8. Files should be saved as UTF-8 encoded.

Tab Characters

TAB characters are interpreted by THT to be 4 spaces.

However, we recommend you configure your editor to insert 4 spaces for your Tab key (aka “soft tabs”), if it doesn’t already do so by default.

• Notepad++
• SublimeText

Whitespace

Indentation

Lines inside multiline braces of {}, [], or () should be indented. Recommended: 4 spaces

// ✖ No
let nums = [
'Do',
'Re',
'Mi'
];

// ✔ Yes
let nums = [
    'Do',
    'Re',
    'Mi'
];

Infix operators + = == &&

Space before & after: YES

let a = b + 1;  // ✔ Yes
let a = b+1;    // ✖ No
let a=b+1;      // ✖ No

if (isGood && isOk) { ... }  // ✔ Yes
if (isGood&&isOk) { ... }    // ✖ No

Prefix operators ! -

Spaces after: NO

let isNormal = !isAdmin;   // ✔ Yes
let isNormal = ! isAdmin;  // ✖ No

if (!isAdmin) { ... }    // ✔ Yes
if (! isAdmin) { ... }   // ✖ No

let a = -23;   // ✔ Yes
let a = - 23;  // ✖ No

Semicolons ;

Space before: NO
Limit: Only one statement per line.

let foo = 1;   // ✔ Yes
let foo = 1 ;  // ✖ No

let foo = 1; let bar = 2;  // ✖ No

Commas ,

Space before: NO
Space after: YES

doSomething(123, 45, 6789);  // ✔ Yes
doSomething(123,45,6789);    // ✖ No

Parentheses ( )

Inside padding: NO

if (isOk) {     // ✔ Yes
if ( isOk ) {   // ✖ No

check(myVar);    // ✔ Yes
check( myVar );  // ✖ No

let a = b / (c / d);    // ✔ Yes
let a = b / ( c / d );  // ✖ No

Square braces [ ]

Inside padding: NO

let a = [1, 2, 3];    // ✔ Yes
let a = [ 1, 2, 3 ];  // ✖ No

user['userId'];    // ✔ Yes
user[ 'userId' ];  // ✖ No

Curly braces { }

Inside padding: YES

let a = { foo: 1 };  // ✔ Yes
let a = {foo: 1};    // ✖ No

if (isOk) { return a; }  // ✔ Yes
if (isOk) {return a;}    // ✖ No

Colons :

Space before: NO
Space after: YES

let a = { foo: 1 };   // ✔ Yes

let a = { foo : 1 };  // ✖ No
let a = { foo:1 };    // ✖ No

Function argument list ( )

Space before: NO
Space after: YES

function foo(myVar) {   // ✔ Yes

function foo(myVar){    // ✖ No
function foo (myVar)    // ✖ No

Statement keywords

Space after: YES

if(isOk)  // ✖ No
if (isOk) // ✔ Yes

for (i in items) // ✔ Yes
for(i in items)  // ✖ No

Open braces {

Space before: YES
Same line: YES
Next line: NO (but allowed)

// ✔ Yes
function main() {
    // ...
}

// ✖ No - no space before {
function main(){
    // ...
}

// ✖ No - but allowed
function main()
{
    // ...
}

Closing braces } ]

Next Line: YES

// ✔ Yes
let nums = [
    111,
    222,
];

// ✖ No
let nums = [
    111,
    222 ];

Parser Rules 

Nested ternary expressions: NO

// ✖ No
var a = check1 ? action1() : check2 ? action2() : defaultAction();

Optional function arguments always appear last.

// ✔ Yes
function sayHello(userName, isAdmin = false) { ... }

// ✖ No
function sayHello(isAdmin = false, userName) { ... }

Assignment inside conditional: NO

// ✖ No
if (line = readLine()) { ... }

// ✔ Yes
line = readLine();
if (line) { ... }

Statements after continue or break: NO

for {
    if (getNextUser()) {
        continue;
        users += 1;  // ✖ No - unreachable
    }
}

Names

Module and class names are strict UpperCamelCase. This includes acronyms.

User
XmlReader
XmlHttpRequest

All other names (variables, functions, bare map keys) are strict camelCase. This includes acronyms.

user
firstName
userId
userHasIphone
httpResponse