Re: Using clang-format for formatting our code

On 16/08/2022 11:18, Richard Frith-Macdonald wrote:
> 
> 
>> On 16 Aug 2022, at 10:25, Hugo Melder <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Having a consistent code style is useful both for reading and writing code, especially for contributors. The GNUstep base framework currently has a .clang-format configuration file in the project root, but is not used. We could use a configuration file from major Objective-C open source projects like WebKit, or define our own formatting guidelines.
>>
>> What is your opinion towards strict code formatting?
> 
> We have a coding/formatting style defined in the GNUstep base documentation (coding-standards.texi), and we try to make everything conform to that standard.
> 
> However, I prefer *not* to refuse contributions based on stylistic deviations.   Rather I would prefer to thank the contributor, correct any issues, and encourage use of the standard format in future contributions.
> 
> If the .clang-format could be fixed to implement the GNUstep coding style, it might be useful for those of us who have it installed.
> 

 From using clang-format in some other projects:

  - Having a machine-applied style is a huge improvement, it avoids any 
discussion of style in code review (aside from naming of things. 
clang-tidy can help a bit there) and is a big win for folks who are 
moving between projects with different styles.

  - There's some initial pain for anyone downstream after the first time 
that you apply it, but this is reduced later on.  Some editors will 
automatically format things with a .clang-format style and this can 
cause downstream people to introduce accidental diffs if a .clang-format 
exists and isn't used.

  - Different versions of clang-format produce slightly different 
output.  It's worth picking a version and keeping it as the default for 
a few years and then moving forward.

  - Enforcing clang-format compliance on PRs with github actions is easy 
and means that you never have to review inconsistently formatted code.

David