Policies/Frameworks Coding Style

Note

This is a style guide for KDE Frameworks 5. If you write code that is not targeted at KF5, but only at KDE SC 4, refer to that style guide.

Indentation

4 spaces
No tabs

Variable Declarations

Each variable declaration on a new line
Each new word in a variable name starts with a capital letter (so-called camelCase)
Avoid abbreviations
Take useful names. No short names, except:
- Single character variable names can denote counters and temporary variables whose purpose is obvious
Variables and functions start with a lowercase letter

Example:

// wrong
KCategorizedView *catview;
QString prtxt, Errstr;

// correct
KCategorizedView *groupedDeviceList;
QString progressText;
QString errorString;

Whitespace

Use blank lines to group statements
Use only one empty line
One space after each keyword
- Exception: No space between return and ';'
For pointers or references, use a single space before '*' or '&', but not after
No space after a cast

Example:

// wrong
QString* myString;
if(true){
}

// correct
QString *myString;
if (true) {
}

Qt Includes

For Qt #includes omit the module name and only use the class name. That way chances are good that future migrations of Qt classes between different modules do not need any adjustments in the code.

Example:

// wrong
#include <QtCore/QString>

// correct
#include <QString>

Note

This policy applies to KF5 and is the exact opposite of the preferred style for kdelibs in KDE SC 4.