C++ Style Question

[dazfuller]

Personally I prefer the first option: int* a It doesn't look like I'm trying to dereference an existing variable that way and I think it makes it easier to read. Also I avoid writing multiple definitions on the same line, again it makes it easier to read in my opinion and it means that I don't have to change my coding style for pointer declaration.

[Steve Thresher]

Wrong! It's a modifier for the variable like const. which is why you put it with the variable, not the data type.

[Brady Kelly]

C/C++ was my first introduction to programming years after some dabbling in Sinclair Basic. This was before Google, and even before ready access, for me, to forums etc. and for a long time, I thought there was a difference.

You really gotta try harder to keep up with everyone that's not on the short bus with you. - John Simmons / outlaw programmer.

[fboule]

I couldn't have explained it better. I like to consider the asterisk as a modifier to the type. It does actually belong neither to the type, nor to the variable. Its name is ptr and not *ptr. Another example is:

int i = 123;
int &j = i;

It becomes even more unclear if you consider &j as the variable name. Eventually, an alternate way to consider it is with parenthesis:

CType (*ptr), nonPtr;

[CannibalSmith]

int* p1,* p2;

[Gary Wheeler]

The second, since the '*' associates with the variable name, not the type.

Software Zen: delete this;

[Bob1000]

If I see the first I know who wrote the code lives by the axiom 'why make things clear when they can be difficult’ :)

[etkid84]

i would follow the czar of c++. you might want to consider keeping one style/idiom for programming in c, and follow dr. stroustrup's examples for c++. kind regards,

David

[VEMS]

Agree

[Lost User]

I always thought

CType *Pointer

made more sense, since

*Pointer

is actually a CType variable, you're just giving it a weird name that involves a pointer. But this is just a noobie making his first post :P

[User 4595697]

Just use c# instead

[uzziah0]

Since I mostly work with existing code, I try to stay with the style already in the existing code; unless there is something really bad or goofy. I would follow what others have already done in the existing code. Most of the work I do has informal standards, where you only put one variable declaration on a single line. By practice (meaning there is no standard) we out the * on the variable:

int *some = NULL;
int *other = NULL;

[jasmin_m]

It has more style :) Type* pointer=NULL;

[Craig Atwood]

Its all up to your personal preference, the only time it matters is when you declare many variables in 1 line e.g int* first, second here both variables are type int* int *first, second here first is int* and second is primitive int Personally i use int* ithe reason being that the data type is more clear when reading the code

http://www.4cgroup.co.za/

[ricecake]

Yes, he gives his reasoning here: http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bs_faq2.html#whitespace[^]

-- Marcus Kwok

[Stephen F Heffner]

1. C and C++ have a basic style that says variables are declared in the same format in which they're used. Other examples are arrays and function pointers. To be consistent with that style, you would use "Ctype *foo", not "Ctype* foo" or "Ctype * foo". 2. The point about multiple decls is well made, e.g. "Ctype *foo, *bar". This illustrates the real nature of the "*" in the decl, which argues for "Ctype *foo" for a single decl. 3. IMHO what's more important is a naming convention for pointers. I maintain 1/2 million code lines of C with heavy pointer use, and I never have dereferencing bugs, because we use such a convention: "p_" prefix on names to indicate a pointer ("pp_" for double pointers, etc.), i.e. "p_foo" in the example above. (Another convention is a suffix of "P", i.e. "fooP" in the example.) Let's say you see "p_foo = *pp_bar;" in some code. Once your eyes learn to balance the levels using the convention, you can see that this is correct, whereas "p_foo = **pp_bar;" looks wrong. Stephen F. Heffner, President | Phone: +1(480)626-5503 ------------ | Fax: +1(480)626-7618 Pennington Systems Incorporated | Email: Heffner@Pennington.com 8655 East Via de Ventura, Suite G200 | Web: http://WWW.Pennington.com Scottsdale, Arizona 85258-3321 USA | XTRAN: A software engineering meta-tool