Developer Style Guide

In general we aim to follow the Julia Style Guide but there are some exceptions due to our specific needs and a different background.

The content of this page are merely guidelines. There may be good reasons to deviate from them in some cases; in that case just do so.

Naming conventions

The usual Julia naming conventions apply to OSCAR, too (that said, for various reasons our code still violates quite some of them; but in general we strive to reduce these). Here is a summary of the naming convention followed in OSCAR:

• Use CamelCase for types and snake_case for everything else. (Internal functions do not have to follow these rules.) Types (and their constructor) tend to be in CamelCase. However, please also provide the constructor (or a constructor) in snake_case. As a user one usually does not know if something is a constructor or a function.
• Noteworthy difference to Julia base is that we do not have exceptions for is* or has* as prefix. It is is_foo instead of isfoo and has_bar instead of hasbar. The main reason is to avoid awkward constructions like isvery_ample, while also being consistent. For compatibility with standard Julia, while staying consistent internally, we also provide aliases (using AbstractAlgebra.@alias) for various standard Julia functions, e.g. is_one as alias for isone
• For generic concepts choose generic names, based on general algebraic concepts, preferably not special names from your area of speciality.
• Use Julia conventions where applicable and when they don't contradict our own rules above.
• In Julia we have multiple dispatch, so we do not need functions like point_from_matrix as the "from" part is clear by the type of the argument. It should be called points(T::Matrix) in some variation. Similarly for matrix_to_points. Of course it is fine to use them internally, where useful.
• Follow the mathematics. If your function needs a list of points, you should create a point-type (or use the one already there) and then use this. For user-facing functions, please do not use re-purposed lists, arrays, matrices...
• If already existing types in OSCAR are almost what you need, consider improving them instead of writing your own. While it might be tempting to create a new polynomial ring type for the new application because some feature is missing, it causes a lot of work and compatibility issues: Will the new type support
  • normal functions (gcd, factor),
  • quotient fields,
  • modules and residue rings,
  • conversion to and from other already existing types?
• Whenever functions return the same mathematical object, but in different mathematical categories, the first argument should be the desired return type. One example is projective_space(NormalToricVariety, *) vs projective_space(ProjectiveScheme, *). However, if the return type is different, even if the result describes the same mathematical object, it should be indicated in the function name, for example automorphism_group vs automorphism_group_generators vs automorphism_list.

Code formatting

Unicode

As most modern programming languages, Julia allows the use of Unicode, e.g., α, in the REPL as well as in source code. As this reduces accessibility to various groups of users and developers, the use of Unicode should be kept to a minimum. Here is a general principle:

Do not use Unicode characters inside functions. See below for the exception concerning printing.

Per default output should be ANSI only (no Unicode). Implementors of Base.show and related functions can branch on the output of Oscar.is_unicode_allowed() to display objects using non-ASCII characters. This will then be used for users which enabled Unicode using allow_unicode(true). Note that

• there must be a default ANSI only output, since this is the default setting for new users, and
• OSCAR library code is not allowed to call Oscar.allow_unicode.

Here is an example with and without output using Unicode:

  struct AtoB
  end

  function Base.show(io::IO, ::AtoB)
    if Oscar.is_unicode_allowed()
      print(io, "A→B")
    else
      print(io, "A->B")
    end
  end

Whitespace

• Do not use tabs.
• Do not put spaces "inside" parenthesis.
• Do put spaces after commas.

Good example:

f(x, y) = x + 1
print(f(1, 2))

Bad example:

f( x,y ) = x + 1
print( f ( 1,2 ) )

Loops and other control structures

• for loops should use in not =
• don't put spaces around the : in a range

Good example:

for i in 1:3
  println(i)
end

Bad example:

for i = 1 : 3
  println(i)
end

Code structure

• do not nest loops and if clauses too deeply; if you are using 5 or more levels, then in general that's a hint that you should refactor; e.g.

  • by moving parts of the code into a separate function
  • by replacing guard constructs like

    for i in A
      if flag
        ...
      end
    end

    by

    for i in A
      if !flag
        continue
      end
      ...
    end

    or

    for i in A
      flag ||continue
      ...
    end

  • by merging loops: you can replace

    for i in A
      for j in B
        ...
      end
    end

    by

    for i in A, j in B
      ...
    end

• Functions should not have too many arguments. If you need a bunch arguments, chances are that introducing a new type makes it more readable.

• Functions should not be too long; very long functions are in general harder to understand; it is also more difficult to see all the code at once. Consider splitting the function into multiple ones, if it is sensibly possible.

However, as always, rules sometimes should be broken.

Deprecating functions

Sometimes it is necessary to rename a function or otherwise change it. To allow for backwards compatibility, please then introduce a new line in the file src/Deprecations.jl. The syntax is as follows:

# Deprecated after CURRENT_RELEASE_VERSION
@deprecate old_function(args) new_function(args)

It is possible to transform the args too, if the syntax has changed. If this process needs an auxiliary function, which otherwise is unnecessary, please add it above:

# Deprecated after CURRENT_RELEASE_VERSION
function transform_args_for_new_function(args)
    # Do something
    return new_args
end
@deprecate old_function(args) new_function(transform_args_for_new_function(args))

The comment about the version number is only necessary if you are the first one adding to Deprecations.jl after a release, otherwise please add to the existing block.

Documentation

• In general we try to follow the list of recommendations in the Documentation section of the Julia manual.

• Via the MathJax integration it is possible to use LaTeX code, and this is the preferred way to denote the mathematical symbols in the docstrings.