Styleguide for programming

This is how you can make your program readable:

READABILITY

1. Write your code clearly — don’t be too clever nor too efficient over clarity.
2. Say what you mean, simply and directly for easy understanding.
3. Write first in easy-to-understand pseudo language; then translate into whatever language you have to use.
4. Modularize. Use procedures and functions to avoid repetitive expressions
5. Use in-built functions first.
6. Use parenthesis and indentation to avoid ambiguity.
7. Format a program to help the reader understand it.
8. Don’t patch bad code — rewrite it.

VARIABLES

1. Use variable names that are relatable and meaningful.
2. Avoid too many temporary variables.
3. Initialise all variables before use.
4. Choose a data representation that makes the program simple.

INPUT

1. Make sure input doesn’t violate the limits of the program.
2. Identify bad input; recover if possible.
3. Make input easy to prepare and output self-explanatory.
4. Use uniform input formats.