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The Elements of Programming Style

Brian W. Kernighan, P. J. Plauger / Paperback / Published 1988


Amazon Price: $40.74 
Published in 1978. 168 pages.

Was first published in 1979. Now slightly outdated. Code Complete : A Practical Handbook of Software Construction contains similar material if you want a more recent book, but this book pioneered the field. Contains an interesting discussion of how to transform the program to a better one and common pitfalls in programming. The authors have provided an useful set of tips for coding (and sometimes design). Here is a summary of the important programming style tips from Brian Kernighan's 1994 guest CS50 lecture:

•  

  Say what you mean, simply and directly.

  1. Use the "telephone test'' for readability.
  2. Write clearly - don't be too clever.
  3. Don't use conditional expressions as a substitute for a logical expression.
  4. Parenthesize to avoid ambiguity.
  5. Each time you make a test, do something.
  6. Follow each decision as closely as possible with its associated action.
  7. Use the good features of a language; avoid the bad ones.
  8. Capture regularity in control flow, irregularity in data.
  9. Each module should do one thing well.
  10. Make sure comments and code agree.
  11. Don't just echo the code with comments - make every comment count.
  12. Don't comment bad code - rewrite it.
  13. Use symbolic constants for magic numbers.
  14. Watch out for side effects and order of evaluation.
  15. Macros are not functions.
  16. Watch out for off-by-one errors.
  17. Test programs at their boundaries.
  18. Program defensively.
  19. Make sure input cannot violate the limits of the program.
  20. Make it right before you make it faster.
  21. Keep it right when you make it faster.
  22. Don't sacrifice clarity for small gains in ``efficiency.''
  23. Don't stop with your first draft.

Recommended Links

Brian Kernighan homepage

 

1. Why Pascal is Not My Favorite Programming Language
2. Indian Hill C Style and Coding Standards
3. Optimization of Computer Programs in C
4. Rob Pike Notes on Programming in C
5. The Ten Commandments for C Programmers (Annotated Edition)

Dennis Ritchie  Home Page

• Dennis Ritchie
• Dennis Ritchie BCPL to B to C
• Dennis Ritchie Why I do not like X3J11 type qualifiers
• Foreword by Dennis Ritchie
• DBLP Dennis Ritchie
• Dennis Ritchie
• Dennis Ritchie Bio

freshmeat.net Project details for The Elements of Programming Style - fortune cookie

The Elements of Programming Style - fortune cookie is a fortune cookie file containing the 69 tips from the "Elements of Programming Style" by Kernighan & Plaugher.

Last modified: February 28, 2008