Modern C

Chapter 9. Style

This chapter covers

• Writing readable code
• Formatting code
• Naming identifiers

Programs serve both sides: first, as we have already seen, they serve to give instructions to the compiler and the final executable. But equally important, they document the intended behavior of a system for the people (users, customers, maintainers, lawyers, and so on) who have to deal with it.

Therefore, we have a prime directive:

Takeaway C

All C code must be readable.

The difficulty with that directive is knowing what constitutes “readable.” Not all experienced C programmers agree, so we will begin by trying to establish a minimal list of necessities. The first things we must have in mind when discussing the human condition ...