A bit back we discussed and adopted the Google C++ Style Guide. As we dig deeper into the C++ sources we find some striking differences in some of the conventions that we may want to discuss and address before tackling them.
*Variable Naming* Google style dictates no *camelCase*, use either *alllowercase* or *variable_name. *Our C++ code has a mix of all three. Personally I prefer cameCase as more readable. *Class Data Members* Google style says members must end with underscore, *my_member_*. While I find this preferable to the common practice in our code of *m_* prefix, like *m_myVariable,* I am not super fond of any decoration of member variables. *Constant Names* Google says prefix with *k* and gives and example with *kCamelCase*. I think *cameCase* might be a typo but again I am not fond of any variable decorations. *Reference vs. Pointer* Google says use pointer if you intend to modify the value being passed and use const references for values that are not going to be modified. It says do not use references except for very limited use cases. We have references and pointers spread inconsistently throughout the source. Worst, it is not consistent in the public API. We should decide on a standard and make sure our API adheres to it first. Others may pop up as we go but these are the obvious ones standing out. -Jake
