<a href=”http://addressof.com/blog/">Cory Smith</a> has
published a <a
href=”http://addressof.com/blog/articles/CodingGuidelines.aspx">manifesto</a>
for coding guidelines in VB.NET.
It is a very well thought out document and I agree with almost
everything that he has written. I agree with his <a
href=”http://addressof.com/blog/articles/CodingGuidelines.aspx#1513">comment
on indent sizing</a> rather than the literal suggestion in the
document. Indents need to be consistent for all developers rather
than any one specific size. I have worked in code where there has
been 3 different lengths of indents used and it is so very much harder
to read. I also would agree that 2 is a better sizing than the
default 4 for the indents. I work on a 19” monitor set at
1600x1200 resolution and I regularly have code that starts disappearing
off the right side of the screen when it is embedded deep in the logic.
I do disagree with the exclusive exclusion of single letter
variables. As commented by <a
href=”http://addressof.com/blog/articles/CodingGuidelines.aspx#1519">Bill
McCarthy</a>, the use of for i = 1 to count is a perfectly valid
use of a single character variable. Once the variable takes on
more meaning than a placeholder for a looping function, I agree that
the naming should become much more meaningful.
Overall, this is a wonderful document to be used as a starting
point. Some people will adopt it as is, and it will provide them
with great standards. Others will want, and need, to modify it
for specific scenarios in their environment.