1. GNU Coding Guidelines Shakthi Kannan GNU Free Documentation License
October 2007
Version 1.0

2. How to use the GPL /* * main.c * * The main file of the program
* Copyright (C) 2007 Shakthi Kannan
* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
* the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
* along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
* Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA USA. */

3. Clean-up temporary files.
Check $TMPDIR.
Else use /tmp.
Clean-up temporary files.

4. Error messages Interactive programs Non-interactive programs
program : message
program : source-file-name : lineno : message
program : source-file-name : lineno : column : message
Interactive programs
source-file-name: lineno-1-lineno-2: message
source-file-name: lineno-1.column-1-column-2: message
source-file-name: lineno-1.column-1-lineno-2.column-2: message

5. Comments /* So, you can comment? */ /* * You can pass more comments?

6. Naming Use lowercase only for variables. int pencil;
Separate names with underscore:
int return_my_pencil;
Use all CAPS for constants.
#define JAMES_BOND 007

7. Functions
Check return values.
Example:
malloc ()
system calls

8. Function declaration void add_to_list (char *buf, char *rbuf);
char *gamma (char *buf);
int run_test (struct gnc *x);

9. C function parentheses
/* the main function */
int
main (int argc, char *argv[]) { }

10. Long function arguments
void select_team (char *players,
int advertising, int eleven) {
/* do nothing */ }

11. if-else constructs if (you_sleep) { printf (“Good”); } else
printf (“You're awake!”);

12. do-while constructs do {
/* speak the truth */ }
while (true);

13. Splitting long expressions
split before operator
if (bored_life && dull_friends
&& remaining_conditions) {
/* cheer up! */ }

14. Internationalization
Use GNU gettext
file.c
printf (_(“%s, never take life seriously. Nobody gets
out alive, anyway\n” your_name);
file.pot
msgid “%s, never take life seriously. Nobody gets
out alive, anyway\n”
msgstr “”

15. ChangeLog 2006-02-07 Matthew Allum <mallum@openedhand.com>
* applets/mb-applet-system-monitor.c: (system_memory), (main):
* configure.ac:
Detect kernel version at run rather than build time.
Matthew Allum
* src/msg.c: (_get_server_time), (msg_win_create),
(msg_handle_events), (msg_calc_win_size):
* src/panel.c: (panel_main):
* src/session.c: (session_preexisting_clear_current):
* src/session.h:
Apply patch from Phil Blundell remove uneeded polling.
( See bug #68 )

16. README README ===== Greetings!
The directory contains simple Linux device driver code examples, for character device operations.
The device drivers are for 2.6 kernels.
The code examples include:
ex1-hello-world/
ex2-init-exit/
ex3-doc-license/
ex4-param/
ex5-multi-file/
ex6-char-register/
ex7-char-dev-register/
ex8-char-dev-register-dynamic/
ex9-write/
ex10-read/
ex11-debug/
ex12-proc/
ex13-ioctl

17. References Richard Stallman. September 23, 2007. GNU Coding Standards.
Gary V. Vaughan, Ben Elliston, Tom Tromey, and
Ian Lance Taylor. February 8, GNU
Autoconf, Automake, and Libtool.