Naming Convention

The neoGFX naming convention is based on the idea that to aid readability of C++ code it is better to encode scope rather than type in an identifier name prefix. The idea of encoding scope in identifier names was introduced by the smartphone operating system EPOC32 (later Symbian OS).

The following table lists the various C++ syntactical constructs with their associated convention:

neoGFX Naming Convention

Construct	Convention	Example	Note
macro	upper snake case	FOO_BAR	snake_case is used for in-class event definition macros
function name	snake case	foo_bar
struct/class name	snake case	foo_bar
interface class name	snake case; i_ prefix	i_foo_bar	an interface class does not have any member variables, containing only pure virtual functions and any associated helper functions
enum class name	snake case	foo_bar
enum name	snake case; _e suffix	foo_bar_e	C-style enums
enumerator	upper camel case	FooBar
function parameter	camel case; a prefix	aFooBar	"a" for argument
local variable	lower camel case	fooBar
member variable (class)	camel case; i prefix	iFooBar	"i" for class instance variable
member variable (struct)	lower camel case	fooBar	use struct for classes that don't have a class invariant
variable with static storage duration	camel case; s prefix	sFooBar
variable with thread local storage duration	camel case; t prefix	tFooBar
event object	upper camel case	FooBar
event (virtual) getter function	snake case	foo_bar

Example class:

class foo
{
public:
   foo(int aValue) : iValue{ aValue }
   {
   }
public:
   int value() const
   {
       return iValue;
   }
   void something()
   {
       thread_local qux tQux;
       /* ... code ... */
   }
private:
   int iValue;
};