
      Conventions for the Genode development


                  Norman Feske


Documentation
#############

We use the GOSH syntax
[http://os.inf.tu-dresden.de/~nf2/files/GOSH/current/gosh.txt]
for documentation and README files.


README files
############

Each directory should contain a file called 'README' that briefly explains
what the directory is about. In 'doc/Makefile' is a rule for
generating a directory overview from the 'README' files automatically.

You can structure your 'README' file by using the GOSH style for subsections:
! Subsection
! ~~~~~~~~~~
Do not use chapters or sections in your 'README' files.


Filenames
#########

All normal filenames are lowercase.  Filenames should be chosen to be
expressive.  Someone who explores your files for the first time might not
understand what 'mbi.cc' means but 'multiboot_info.cc' would ring a bell. If a
filename contains multiple words, use the '_' to separate them (instead of
'miscmath.h', use 'misc_math.h').


Coding style
############

A common coding style helps a lot to ease collaboration. The official coding
style of the Genode base components is described in 'doc/coding_style.txt'.
If you consider working closely together with the Genode main developers,
your adherence to this style is greatly appreciated.


Include files and RPC interfaces
################################

Never place include files directly into the '<repository>/include/' directory
but use a meaningful subdirectory that corresponds to the component that
provides the interfaces.

Each RPC interface is represented by a separate include subdirectory. For
an example, see 'base/include/ram_session/'. The headerfile that defines
the RPC function interface has the same base name as the directory. The RPC
stubs are called 'client.h' and 'server.h'. If your interface uses a custom
capability type, it is defined in 'capability.h'. Furthermore, if your
interface is a session interface of a service, it is good practice to
provide a connection class in a 'connection.h' file for managing session-
construction arguments and the creation and destruction of sessions.

Specialization-dependent include directories are placed in 'include/<specname>/'.


Service Names
#############

Service names as announced via the 'parent()->announce()' function follow
the following convention:

Core's services, which are the most fundamental base services are written
completely upper case. Each developer should be aware of the meaning of the
used acronyms such as RAM, RM, ROM.  All other service names should be
descriptive names rather than acronyms.  Service names should contain only
letters, numbers, and underline characters.  The first character must
always be an uppercase letter, all other characters are lowercase.
