Coding Conventions

Overview

The following coding conventions should be followed when submitting code to the project.
Anything not mentioned here should follow Sun's Java Conventions.

Conventions

• Put the Session Tester header at the top of each new source file.
  SomeClass.java

  /*
   * Session Tester - The Exploratory Testing Tool, a tool to help manage
   * exploratory testing sessions, prime testing ideas and record test results.
   *
   * Copyright (C) 2010 Jonathan Kohl, Aaron West
   *
   * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
   * under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
   * Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option)
   * any later version.
   *
   * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
   * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
   * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for
   * more details.
   *
   * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
   * with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
   */
  
  package somepackage;
  
  public class SomeClass
  {
      // code
  }
  

• Place curly braces on new lines. Braces should be used even for one-line statements.
  Curly Braces

  if(expr)
  {
      // statement(s)
  }
  
  try
  {
      // statement(s)
  }
  catch(Exception e)
  {
      // statement(s)
  }
  finally
  {
      // statement(s)
  }
  
  for(;;)
  {
      // statement(s)
  }
  

• Use four space indents. No tabs.

• Use JavaDoc comments to document classes, methods, and other class members.
  JavaDoc Comments

  /**
   * A DeLorean-based, one-way, {@code TimeMachine} implementation that uses
   * four wheels to build up the speed necessary for wormhole traversal.
   */
  public class DeLorean implements TimeMachine
  {
      /**
       * Creates a new DeLorean ready for a one-way trip to
       * the specified destination.
       *
       * @param destination <i>when</i> to go.
       */
      public DeLorean(Date destination)
      {
          this.destination = destination;
          this.capacitor = new FluxCapacitor();
      }
  
      // ...
  
      private Date destination;
      private Capacitor capacitor;
  }
  

• Use TODO to tag areas that require attention.
  Use TODO

  public class SomeList<E> implements List<E>
  {
      // ...
  
      /**
       * {@inheritDoc}
       */
      @Override
      public boolean add(E e)
      {
          // TODO: We should probably support this operation in 2.0.
          throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
      }
  
      // ...
  }
  

• Use a maximum of 80 characters per line.

• Import statements should be fully qualified. No star imports.
  Imports

  // Good.
  import java.util.List;
  import sessiontester.Persistor;
  
  // Evil.
  import java.util.*;