Code style

This convention applies to the ark reorganization and subsequent development. Public interfaces, implementation names and filenames consistently use snake_case.

Naming

Item	Convention	Examples
Namespaces	Lowercase words separated by underscores	`ark`, `ark::detail`
Classes, structs and type aliases	`snake_case`	`plugin_manager`, `module`, `data_list`
Enumeration types and values	`snake_case`	`data_type::dt_int64`
Functions and methods	`snake_case`	`find_module()`, `start()`, `stop()`
Local variables and parameters	`snake_case`	`module_name`, `initial_buffer_size`
Private and protected members	`snake_case` with a trailing underscore	`module_name_`, `state_`
Public struct fields	`snake_case`	`session_id`
Compile-time constants	`snake_case`	`default_buffer_size`
Template parameters	`snake_case`	`module_type`, `buffer_size`
Preprocessor macros	`UPPER_SNAKE_CASE`, prefixed with `ARK_`	`ARK_EXPORT`
C++ filenames	`snake_case`; `.hpp` headers and `.cpp` implementations	`plugin_manager.hpp`, `plugin_manager.cpp`

The public type form after migration is ark::plugin_manager. Name interfaces and implementations by responsibility; new interfaces do not use AFI or AFC type prefixes. Preserve identifiers belonging to dependencies.

Formatting and include order

Use four spaces, no tabs, and a 120-column limit.
Group includes in this order: system libraries, third-party libraries, project headers. Separate groups with a blank line.
Place a function’s opening brace on the signature line. Expand short functions, including empty bodies.
Use braces for conditional and loop bodies, including short branches.
Leave blank lines between includes and code, namespaces and their definitions, and adjacent type or function definitions.
clang-format handles formatting. Interface review and applicable static checks enforce naming.

This example illustrates naming and formatting:

#include <cstddef>

namespace ark {

class session_counter
{
public:
    void add(std::size_t count) {
        count_ += count;
    }

    std::size_t count() const {
        return count_;
    }

private:
    std::size_t count_ = 0;
};

} // namespace ark

Implementation conventions

Use C++20 and target-scoped dependencies. Public headers explicitly include the standard-library headers they need.
Manage resources through RAII and explicit ownership. Document the lifetime of borrowed pointers, references and views.
Use override, final and const to express interface constraints.
Write English comments describing constraints, reasoning and non-obvious behavior. Document public API lifetime, threading and error contracts.
Review formatting separately from behavior changes. Migrate a module together with its consumers, examples and tests.

Local checks and generated code

Use clang-format 18 and the checked-in configuration:

./scripts/format.sh
./scripts/format.sh --check
./scripts/clang_tidy.sh style-build

The clang-tidy command needs the configured build’s compilation database and a compatible compiler toolchain. Set CLANG_FORMAT or CLANG_TIDY when selecting a nondefault executable. Formatting covers ark-owned C++ and Protobuf sources; vendored implementations and generated build outputs retain their own rules.

Protocol definitions use snake_case and the ark::protobuf C++ namespace, with consul and osslog retaining their existing packages. The generator’s .pb.h suffix remains unchanged. Configuration keys, reflection strings, external JSON names and the C# generator’s business-facing names keep their required spelling. See Protobuf messages for binary and source compatibility boundaries.