Coding conventions at LIF

In order to ensure clean and uniform coding practices, all LIF projects follow a modified version of the Google Java Style Guide. The LIF style guide differs in a handful of elements:

• Curly braces should be alone on their line in block statements
• Member fields should start with m_ and be written in CamelCase
• Static fields should start with s_ and be written in CamelCase
• Local variables and method arguments should be written with_a_syntax_like_this

Otherwise, the Google rules are applied almost as is.

The Checkstyle plugin in Eclipse

To help you make sure the code you produce follows the LIF guidelines, we highly recommend that you use the Checkstyle tool, and especially its Eclipse plugin. Checkstyle can verify all these coding guidelines automatically, and give you warnings when your code violates one of those rules. It is a quick way to make sure you write standards-compliant code right from the start, which will mix well with the LIF's existing codebase.

Installing Checkstyle

1. Go to Help / Eclipse Marketplace. Find and install the "Checkstyle Plugin".
2. Once CS is installed, go to Window / Preferences. In the Checkstyle tab, locate the "Global Check Configurations" box.
3. Select New..., choose "External Configuration File".
4. Click Browse..., and choose the file LIF Checkstyle Coding Rules.xml. Give some name to your style configuration.
5. Back in the "Global Check Configurations" box, click on your new configuration and set it as default.
6. Click "Apply and close". Eclipse will ask you to rebuild your workspace; click Yes.

Using Checkstyle

Once Checkstyle is installed, it should give you warnings as you type. You can also force the re-checking of the rules by right-clicking on a resource, and selecting Checkstyle / Check code with Checkstyle.

The Checkstyle plugin in IntelliJ

There are similar instructions for using Checkstyle in IntelliJ.

The Eclipse formatter configuration

Eclipse can also help you format your code according to the rules. To install the LIF formatting rules:

1. Go to Project / Properties and locate the Java Code Style / Formatter tab.
2. Click on "Configure Workspace settings".
3. In the Formatter window, click on Import and select the file LIF Eclipse Coding Style.xml.
4. Click on Apply to close all the windows.

From then on, the new code that you will produce will be formatted according to some of the LIF style rules. In addition, you can auto-clean-up your code by right-clicking on a resource and selecting Source / Format or Source / Clean up.

The IntelliJ formatter configuration

To install the LIF formatting rules in IntelliJ IDEA:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open IDE settings and select Editor / Code style, then go to the Java section.
2. Click on the Gear icon next to the "Scheme" drop-down, select Import scheme / Eclipse XML profile.
3. Select the file LIF Eclipse Coding Style.xml. Give a name to these settings and click OK.
4. Click on Apply to close all the windows.

From then on, the new code that you will produce will be formatted according to some of the LIF style rules. In addition, you can auto-clean-up your code by right-clicking on a resource and selecting Reformat code.

Other steps

Here are a few other steps you may want to follow to make sure your code is consistent with all projects developed at LIF.

Use Java 6 syntax

Make sure that your code complies with the Java 6 standard. This means you must avoid constructs that have been introduced in later versions of Java, such as: the java.nio package, the "diamond" operator, lambda expressions, etc.

If your project uses the default AntRun build script, it will automatically compile against Java 6 syntax. However, your IDE is probably not configured by default to use this syntax. You can change this in Eclipse by going into Preferences, Java Compiler, and select 1.6 as the Java version for your whole workspace. From then on, Eclipse will warn you whenever you write code that is not 1.6-compliant.

Happy programming!