Here we document style rules for C usage in the gRPC Core library.
- Layout rules are defined by clang-format, and all code should be passed through clang-format. A (docker-based) script to do so is included in tools/distrib/clang_format_code.sh.
-
Public header files (those in the include/grpc tree) should compile as pedantic C89.
-
Public header files should be includable from C++ programs. That is, they should include the following:
#ifdef __cplusplus extern "C" { # endif /* ... body of file ... */ #ifdef __cplusplus } # endif
-
Header files should be self-contained and end in .h.
-
All header files should have a
#define
guard to prevent multiple inclusion. To guarantee uniqueness they should be based on the file's path.For public headers:
include/grpc/grpc.h
→GRPC_GRPC_H
For private headers:
src/core/lib/channel/channel_stack.h
→GRPC_CORE_LIB_CHANNEL_CHANNEL_STACK_H
When declaring a (non-static) pointer variable, always initialize it to NULL
.
Even in the case of static pointer variables, it's recommended to explicitly
initialize them to NULL
.
- Variable sized arrays are not allowed.
- Do not use the 'inline' keyword.
- Flexible array members are allowed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible_array_member).
Within public header files, only /* */
comments are allowed.
Within implementation files and private headers, either single line //
or multi line /* */
comments are allowed. Only one comment style per file is
allowed however (i.e. if single line comments are used anywhere within a file,
ALL comments within that file must be single line comments).
- Non-static functions must be prefixed by
grpc_
- Static functions must not be prefixed by
grpc_
- Typenames of
struct
s ,union
s, andenum
s must be prefixed bygrpc_
if they are declared in a header file. They must not be prefixed bygrpc_
if they are declared in a source file. - Enumeration values and
#define
names must be uppercase. All other values must be lowercase. - Enumeration values or
#define
names defined in a header file must be prefixed withGRPC_
(except for#define
macros that are being used to substitute functions; those should follow the general rules for functions). Enumeration values or#define
s defined in source files must not be prefixed withGRPC_
. - Multiple word identifiers use underscore as a delimiter, never camel
case. E.g.
variable_name
.
- The use of
atexit()
is in forbidden in libgrpc.