Code Style Guidelines

Author: Johannes Hofmann, Niklas Sirch 2025

Naming Conventions

Table 25 Naming Conventions

Category	Convention	Example(s)	Notes
Classes	snake_case	c_peripheral_interface	Use c for pure software classes. Use c_soft_ prefix for SW version of HW modules.
Variables	snake_case	memory_size, base_address	Start with lowercase, use snake_case.
Methods/Functions	snake_case	load_elf, write_peripheral	Start with lowercase, use snake_case.
Constants (Macros)	UPPER_SNAKE_CASE	PN_MEMORY_SIZE_128K, CORE_TRACE_FILE	All caps with underscores.
SystemC Modules	snake_case with m_ prefix	m_alu, m_wb_uart	Prefix m for hardware modules.
SystemC Processes	snake_case with proc_ prefix	proc_clk, proc_cmb_iport	Use proc_ + clk/cmb + optional suffix.
Enumerations (enum)	Type: snake_case Values: UPPER_SNAKE_CASE	e_memu_state, MEMU_IDLE	Enum values must have a prefix to avoid name collisions.
Config Options	UPPER_SNAKE_CASE with CFG_ prefix	CFG_REGFILE_SIZE, WB_UART_ADDR	Used in config.mk / piconut-config.h. CFG_ indicates processor config.

Formatting

The project uses clang-format to format the code. The configuration is in .clang-format. It is highly recommended to follow these guidelines to ensure a consistent code style.

You can use the VS-Code Extension xaver.clang-format or format with these commands.

$ # For single files use
$ clang-format -i file.cpp
$ # For all project files use
$ git ls-files '*.[ch]' '*.[ch]pp' | xargs clang-format -i