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OpenEmber C++ Coding Style Guide

General principles​

  • Project-wide consistency beats individual habit
  • API readability comes first
  • Names should express meaning, not implementation detail

Naming conventions​

Types (classes / structs / enums)​

Use PascalCase, for example:

class EmberClient;
struct PacketHeader;
enum class ConnectionState;

Functions (single rule)​

lowerCamelCase (similar to Qt)

void connectToServer();
void sendPacket();
int calculateChecksum();
  • Do not treat public vs. private differently
  • Do not use PascalCase for functions (keeps the style simpler than Google’s mix)

Getters / setters (same camelCase rule)​

int packetCount() const;
void setPacketCount(int count);

bool isConnected() const;
  • Same convention as other member functions
  • Avoid Google-style “exception” rules for accessors

Variables​

Locals / parameters​

int packetCount;
std::string deviceName;

Member variables​

m_ prefix + camelCase

class Client {
private:
    int m_packetCount;
    bool m_connected;
};

Global variables​

int g_packetCount;

Constants​

PascalCase (no k prefix)

const int MaxPacketSize = 1024;

Macros (only when necessary)​

#define EMBER_MAX_BUFFER 1024

File naming​

snake_case

ember_client.h
packet_parser.cpp
connection_manager.h

Why:

  • Works across platforms (Linux / Windows)
  • Avoids case-sensitivity issues

Class design​

One responsibility per class​

class PacketParser;   // parsing only
class Connection;     // connection only

APIs should read like sentences​

client.connectToServer();
client.sendPacket(data);
client.disconnect();

Avoid:

client.DoConnect();
client.HandlePacket();

Boolean naming (important)​

bool isConnected();
bool hasError();
bool canRetry();

Do not:

bool connected();   // ambiguous

Enumerations​

enum class ConnectionState {
    Disconnected,
    Connecting,
    Connected,
};
  • PascalCase type name
  • Enumerators without redundant prefixes (avoid STATE_CONNECTED-style noise)

Naming anti-patterns​

Do not mix styles:

get_packet_count()   // ❌
GetPacketCount()     // ❌
packetCount()        // ✅

Do not use meaningless abbreviations:

pktCnt   // ❌

Do not use type-prefix Hungarian notation:

int iCount;   // ❌