mirror of https://github.com/nmlgc/ReC98.git
70 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
70 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Contribution guidelines
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## Rule #1
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**`master` must never introduce code changes that change the decompressed
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program image, or the unordered set of relocations, of any original game
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binary, as compared using [mzdiff].** The only allowed exceptions are:
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1) different encodings of identical x86 instructions within code segments
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2) padding with `00` bytes at the end of the file.
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Other branches are, of course, free to experiment with mods or refactorings.
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## Taste issues
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* Use tabs for indentation.
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* Spaces for alignment are allowed, especially if they end up giving the code
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a nice visual structure, e.g. with multiple calls to the same function with
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varying pixel coordinates.
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* Don't indent `extern "C"` blocks that span the entire file.
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* Always use `{ brackets }`, even around single-statement conditional
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branches.
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* Add spaces around binary operators. `for(i = 0; i < 12; i++)`
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* Variables should be *signed* in the absence of any ASM instruction
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(conditional jump, arithmetic, etc.) or further context (e.g. parameters
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with a common source) that defines their signedness. If a variable is used
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in both signed and unsigned contexts, declare it as the more common one.
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## Code organization
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* Try to avoid repeating numeric constants – after all, easy moddability
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should be one of the goals of this project. For local arrays, use `sizeof()`
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if the size can be expressed in terms of another array. Otherwise, `#define`
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a macro if there is a clear intent behind a number. (Counterexample: Small,
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insignificant amounts of pixels in e.g. entity movement code.)
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* Documenting function comments exclusively go into C/C++ header files, right
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above the corresponding function prototype, *not* into ASM slices.
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* New `struc`ts or "sequence of numeric equate" enums defined in ASM land
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should immediately be reflected in a header file in C/C++ land, with the
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correct types and calling conventions.
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* Try moving repeated sections of code into a separate `inline` function
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before grabbing the `#define` hammer. Turbo C++ will generally inline
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everything declared as `inline` that doesn't contain `do`, `for`, `while`,
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`goto`, `switch`, `break`, `continue`, or `case`.
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* These inlining rules also apply to C++ class methods, so feel free to
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declar classes if you keep thinking "overloaded operators would be nice
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here" or "this code would read really nicely if this functionality was
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encapsulated in a method". (Sometimes, you will have little choice, in
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fact!) Despite Turbo C++'s notoriously outdated C++ implementation, [there
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are quite a lot of possibilites for abstractions that inline perfectly][1].
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Subpixels, as seen in 9d121c7, are the prime example here. Don't overdo it,
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though – use classes where they meaningfully enhance the original procedural
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code, not to replace it with an overly nested, "enterprise-y" class
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hierarchy.
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## Naming conventions
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* Macros defining the number of instances of an entity: `<ENTITY>_COUNT`
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* Functionally identical reimplementations or micro-optimizations of
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master.lib functions: `z_<master.lib function name>`
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[mzdiff]: https://github.com/nmlgc/mzdiff
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[1]: Research/Borland%20C++%20decompilation.md#C++
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