Coding Requirements for CS 270 (Fall 2008)

Just "getting it to work" is not enough in the real world, and it is not enough for this class either. Your programming assignments will be graded based on coding style and on whether you have a unit test for every function.

Code Style

You will be graded for the style of programming on this assignment. A few requirements for style are given below. These guidelines for style will have to be followed for all the programming assignments, so read them carefully.

Use reasonable comments to make your code clear and readable.

Use file headers and function header blocks to describe the purpose of your programs and functions. Sample file/function headers are provided with PA0.

 /* \file LC3state_init.c 

    \brief      Definition of the LC3state_init function.
    
    \author     Joe Jane Student
    \userid     joejane
    \date       7/14/08
*/
 

 /*! 
    \brief Simulates the specified alu instruction on the given inputs and returns the results.
    
    \param  op      ALU operation specified with ALUK enum type
    \param  B       Input B in book Figure 4.3
    \param  A       Input A in book Figure 4.3
    
    \sideeffect     None
    
    \errorchecks    Asserts if unknown ALU operation is provided
    
    \return         Word that results from performing op on A and B
*/

Explicitly comment all the various registers that you use in your assembly code.
Use reasonable variable names.
Error output goes to stderr. Normal output goes to stdout.
Use #defines and assembly constants to make your code as general as possible. IOW, do not use magic numbers.
Use a local header file to hold common #defines, function prototypes, type definitions, etc., but not variable definitions.
Keep all lines less than 80 characters. Use 2-4 spaces for each level of indenting in your C source code (DO NOT USE TAB). Make sure all levels of indenting line up with the other lines at that level of indenting.
Judicious use of blank spaces around logical hunks of code makes your code much easier to read and debug.

Unit Testing

Except for in PA0 and unless otherwise specified, each function you write will need a unit test written for it. The unit test will be a main function in a file with the name test_funcname, where funcname is the name of the function being tested. The provided Makefiles make compiling and running the unit tests automatic.

You should test your program to take care of invalid inputs like non-integers, strings, no inputs, etc. This is very important. Points will be taken off if your code doesn't handle exceptional cases of inputs as described in each programming assignment writeup.
Always recompile and execute your program and/or unit tests right before turning it in just in case you commented out some code by mistake.
Before running checkin please do a make clean in your project directory.

mstrout@cs.colostate.edu .... August 14, 2008