[SOLVED] CS CS 115 Style Guide Winter 2021

Computer Science @ The University of Waterloo
CS 115 Style Guide Winter 2021
Last Updated: 30 December 2020
1 Introduction

Copyright By Assignmentchef assignmentchef

The code you submit for assignments, as with all code you write, can be made more readable and useful by paying attention to style. This includes the placement of com- ments, choice of variable and function names, whitespace and indentation. None of these things affect the execution of a program, but they affect its readability and extensibility. As in writing English prose, the goal is communication, and you must keep your reader in mind. This is especially important when the reader is assigning you a grade.
1.1 A Warning on Examples From Other Sources
The examples shown in lessons are often condensed to fit them into a few lines; you should not imitate their condensed style for assignments, because you do not have the same space restrictions.
1.2 A Warning on DrRacket
DrRacket(.rkt) files can store rich content that can include images, extended for- matting, comment boxes, and special symbols. Using this rich content may make your assignment unmarkable. Unfortunately, some of the content in the Interac- tions window may be rich (e.g., rational numbers), and so you should avoid copy- and-pasting from your interactions window into your definitions window. In ad- dition, code that appears in a .pdf document (e.g., presentation slides and assign- ments) may contain hidden or unusual symbols, so you should not copy-and-paste from those sources either.

For your assignments, save in plain text format. In DrRacket you can ensure your .rkt file is saved using plain text format by using the menu items: File > Save Other > Save Definitions as Text.
Never include Comment Boxes or images in your submissions. Do not copy-and-paste from the Interactions window or from .pdf documents into the Definitions window, or your assignment may become unmarkable.
2 Assignment Formatting 2.1 Header
Your file should start with a header to identify yourself, the term, the assignment and the question. There is no specifically required format, but it should be clear and assist the reader. The following is a good example in Racket.
;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ;;
*************************************************** (12345678)
CS 115 Fall 2020
Assignment 03, Question 4
***************************************************
2.2 Comments
There are two types of comments in Racket: ;; starts a full-line comment
; starts a comment at the end of a line
Comments should be used for documentation purposes and to explain why code does what it does.
Use in-line comments sparingly. If you are using standard design recipes and tem- plates, and following the rest of the guidelines here, you should not need many ad-

ditional comments. Any such comment can either be put on its own line, or tacked onto the end of a line of code, providing it fits.
2.3 Identifiers
2.3.1 Naming Functions, Parameters and Constants
Identifiers (names) should be meaningful, but not awkwardly long nor cryptically short. The first priority should be to choose a meaningful name. Names like salary or remittance would be appropriate in a program that calculates taxes.
Sometimes a function will consume values that dont have a meaning attached, for example, a function that calculates the maximum of two numbers. In that case, chose names that reflect the structure of the data. That is, n is for numbers, i for integers, lst for a list or lon for a list of numbers, and so on. Names that are proper nouns like Newton should always be capitalized. Otherwise, use the Racket convention:
In Racket, identifiers use lower-case letters and hyphens, eg.
top-bracket-amount
2.3.2 Constants
Constants should be used to improve your code in the following ways:
To improve the readability of your code by avoiding magic numbers. For example, if you have code dealing with tax rates like Ontarios HST, you might want a constant such as hst or taxes and have this value set to 0.13.
(define hst 0.13) ; HST Rate in Ontario effective July 1, 2010
To improve flexibility and allow easier updating of special values. If the value of hst changes, it is much easier to make one change to the definition of the constant than to search through an entire program for the value 0.13. When this value is found, it may not be obvious if it refers to the tax rate, or whether it serves a different purpose and should not be changed.

To define values for testing and examples. As values used in testing and ex- amples become more complicated (e.g., lists, structures, lists of structures), it can be very helpful to define named constants to be used in multiple tests and examples.
2.4 Whitespace, Indentation and Layout
Whitespace should be used to make it easier to read code. This means not having too much or too little whitespace in your code. In what follows, we give an example of what our whitespacing will look like in our model solutions though you can deviate from this slightly as long as the code is still readable.
Insert two consecutive blank lines between functions or function blocks, which include the documentation (e.g., design recipe) if applicable for the func- tion.
Insert one blank line before the function header and one after the function body.
Blank lines may appear in function blocks but do not use more than one con- secutive blank line within a function block.
In DrRacket, if you have many functions and/or large function blocks, you may want to insert a row of symbols (such as the *s used in the file header above) to separate your functions.
If the question asks you to write more than one function, the file should contain them in the order specified by the assignment. Helper functions are typically placed above the assignment function(s) they are helping. Remember that the goal is to make it easier for the reader to determine where your functions are located.
Indentation plays a big part in readability. It is used to indicate level of nesting, to align related subexpressions (e.g., arguments of a function), and to make keywords more visible. DrRackets built-in editor will help with these. If you start an expres- sion (my-fn and then hit enter or return, the next line will automatically be indented a few spaces. However, DrRacket will never break up a line for you, and you can over- ride its indentation simply by putting in more spaces or erasing them. DrRacket also provides a menu item for reindenting a selected block of code (Racket > Reindent)

and even a keyboard shortcut reindenting an entire file (Ctrl+I in Windows; Cmd-I on a Mac).
When to start a new line (hit enter or return) is a matter of judgment. Try not to let your lines get longer than about 70 characters, and definitely no longer than 80 characters. You do not want your code to look too horizontal nor too vertical.
In DrRacket there is a setting you can change to show you when youve exceeded the common style guides recommended line length:
Edit -> Preferences -> Editing tab -> General Editing sub-tab
-> Maximum character width guide.
Occasionally, your examples and tests may exceed the line length guidelines when there is no obvious place to break the line. You should still strive to keep the lines within the suggested limits though.
Style marks may be deducted if you exceed 80 characters on any line of your assignment.
Indentation examples:
(define (distance posn1 posn2)
(sqrt (+ (sqr (- (posn-x posn2) (posn-x posn1)))
(sqr (- (posn-y posn2) (posn-y posn1))))))
(define (distance posn1 posn2) (sqrt (+ (sqr (- (posn-x posn2)
(posn-x posn1))) (sqr (- (posn-y posn2)
(posn-y posn1))))))
;; BAD (too horizontal)
(define (distance posn1 posn2)
(sqrt (+ (sqr (- (posn-x posn2) (posn-x posn1))) (sqr (- (posn-y posn2) (posn-y po
;; BAD (too vertical)
(define (distance posn1 posn2) (sqrt
(posn-x posn2) (posn-x posn1)))
(posn-y posn2)

(posn-y posn1))))))
If indentation is used properly to indicate level of nesting, then closing parentheses can just be added on the same line as appropriate. You will see this throughout the textbook and presentations and in the GOOD example above. Some styles for other programming languages expect that you place closing brackets on separate lines that are vertically lined up with the opening brackets. However, in Racket this tends to negatively effect the readability of the code and is considered poor style.
For conditional expressions, placing the keyword cond on a line by itself, and align- ing not only the questions but the answers as well can improve readability (pro- vided that they are short). However, this recommendation is not strictly required. Each question must appear on a separate line, and long questions/answers should be placed on separate lines. Marks may be deducted if a cond is too dense or confusing.
cond examples:
;; Looks good
[(< bar 0);; Acceptablefor short cond questions and answers(neg-foo bar)] (foo bar)])(cond [(< bar 0) (neg-foo n)] [else (foo n)]);; BAD: (place each question on a separate line)(cond [(< bar 0) (neg-foo n)] [else (foo n)]);; GOOD: Place long questions/answers on separate lines[(and (>= bar 0) (<= bar 100))(really-long-function-or-expression (/ bar 100))] [else(some-other-really-long-function-or-expression bar)])2.5 Summary Usetwocommentsymbolsforfull-linecommentsanduseonecommentsym- bol for in-line comments, and use them sparingly inside the body of functions. Provideafileheaderforyourassignments. 6 Makeitclearwherefunctionblocksbeginandend Orderyourfunctionsappropriately. Avoidoverlyhorizontalorverticalcodelayout. Usereasonablelinelengths. Choosemeaningfulidentifiernamesandfollowournamingconventions. Avoiduseofmagicnumbers.Style marks may be deducted if you have poor headers, identifier names, whitespace, indentation or layout.3 The Design Recipe: FunctionsRelevance: Module 04 and beyond.We hope you will use the design recipe as part of the process of working out your so- lutions to assignment questions. If you hand in only code, even if it works perfectly, you will earn only a fraction of the marks available. Elements of the design recipe help us to understand your code. But the big reason to use the design recipe is that the process will help you write working code more quickly.Not everything in this section will make sense on first reading, and some of the fol- lowing details will only appear at the end of the course. We suggest that you review it before each assignment.3.1 Design Recipe SampleIn your final version, the content including and after ;<— should be removed and is included here to highlight the different components of the design recipe.;; (sum-of-squares p1 p2) produces the sum of ; <— Purpose ;; the squares of p1 and p2;; sum-of-squares: -> Num ; <— Contract;; Examples:(check-expect (sum-of-squares 3 4) 25) (check-expect (sum-of-squares 0 2.5) 6.25)(define (sum-of-squares p1 p2) (+ (* p1 p1)(* p2 p2)))(check-expect (sum-of-squares 0 0) 0) (check-expect (sum-of-squares -2 7) 53)3.2 Purpose;; (sum-of-squares p1 p2) produces the sum of ;; the squares of p1 and p2; <— Examples; <— Function Header ; <— Function Body; <— TestsThe purpose statement has two parts: an illustration of how the function is applied, and a brief description of what the function does. The description does not have to explain how the computation is done; the code itself addresses that question. Thepurposestartswithanexampleofhowthefunctionisapplied,whichuses the same parameter names used in the function header. Donotwritethewordpurpose. The description must include the names of the parameters in the purpose to make it clear what they mean and how they relate to what the function does (choosing meaningful parameter names helps also). Do not include parame- ter types and requirements in your purpose statement the contract already contains that information. If the description requires more than one line, indent the next line of the purpose 2 or 3 spaces. Ifyoufindthepurposeofoneofyourhelperfunctionsistoolongortoocom- plicated, you might want to reconsider your approach by using a different helper function or perhaps using more than one helper function. Its often helpful to use the word produces to highlight what the function creates as an output.3.3 Contract;; sum-of-squares: -> Num
The contract contains the name of the function, the types of the arguments it con- sumes, and the type of the value it produces. The contract is analogous to functions defined mathematically that map from a domain to a co-domain (or more loosely to the range of the function).
3.4 Examples
;; Examples:
(check-expect (sum-of-squares 3 4) 25) (check-expect (sum-of-squares 0 2.5) 6.25)
The examples should be chosen to illustrate typical uses of the function and to illuminate some of the difficulties to be faced in writing it. Examples should cover each case described in the data definition for the type consumed by the function. The examples do not have to cover all the cases that the code addresses; that is the job of the tests, which are designed after the code is written. It is very useful to write your examples before you start writing your code. These examples will help you to organize your thoughts about what exactly you expect your function to do. You might be surprised by how much of a difference this makes.
For recursive data, your examples must include each base case and at least one recur- sive case. Examples should cover edge cases whenever possible (for example, empty lists).
In DrRacket, examples serve both as examples and as tests for your function. 3.4.1 Types in Racket
The following is a list of types that are valid in Racket. Note that types are introduced throughout the course as needed, so some of these may not be familiar upon first reading.

Num Any number, including rational numbers
Int Integers: -2, -1, 0, 1, 2
Nat Natural Numbers (non-negative Integers): 0, 1, 2 Bool Boolean values (true and false)
Sym Symbol (e.g.,Red, Rock)
Str String (e.g.,Hello There, a string)
Char Character (e.g.,#a, #A, #
ewline)
Any Any value is acceptable
(anyof T1 T2)
Mixed data types. For example, (anyof Int Str) can be either an Int or a Str. It may also include specific values such as false (e.g., a search functions failure indicator).
(listof T)
A list of arbitrary length with elements of type T, where T can be any valid type For example: (listof Any), (listof Int), (listof (anyof Int Str)).
(list T1 T2)
A list of fixed length with elements of type T1, T2, etc. For example: (list Int Str) always has two elements: an Int (first) and a Str (second).
User-Defined
For structures and user-defined types (see section below). Capitalize your user defined types.
,,, Matching types to indicate parameters must be of the same type. For example, in the following contract, the
can be any type, but all of the s must be the same type: my-fn: (listof ) ->
3.4.2 Additional Contract Requirements
If there are important constraints on the parameters that are not fully described in the contract, add an additional requires section after the contract. For example, this can be used to indicate a Int must be in a specific range, a Str must be of a specific length, or that a (listof ) cannot be empty. Single requirements can be on one line. Multiple requirements should start on a separate line and each line should be indented several spaces. For an example in Racket:
;; quot: Nat Nat -> Nat ;; Requires:
(define (quot n1 n2) )

It is extremely important that you submit your code and check your basic tests to make sure the format of your submission is readable by the autograder!
(check-expect (sum-of-squares 0 0) 0) (check-expect (sum-of-squares -2 7) 53)
Make sure that your tests are actually testing every part of the code. For example, if a conditional expression has three possible outcomes, you have tests that check each of the possible outcomes. Furthermore, your tests should be directed: each one should aim at a particular case, or section of code. Some people write tests that use a large amount of data; this is not necessarily the best idea, because if they fail, it is difficult to figure out why. Others write lots of tests, but have several tests in a row that do essentially the same thing. Its not a question of quantity, but of quality. You should design a small, comprehensive test suite.
In DrRacket, examples serve both as examples and as tests for your function. Notice that in other languages, this is not necessarily true!
Never figure out the answers to your tests by running your own code. Work out the correct answers independently (e.g., by hand).

3.5.1 Testing Tips
Parameter type
(anyof )
Consider trying these values positive, negative, 0
true, false
values for each possible type
positive, negative, 0, non-integer values, specific boundaries, small and/or large values
empty string (), length 1, length > 1, extra whitespace, different character types, etc.
(listof T)
empty, length 1, length > 1, duplicate values in list, special situations, etc.
User-Defined
special values for each field (structures), and for each possibility (mixed types)
3.6 Additional Design Recipe Considerations 3.6.1 Helper Functions
Relevance: Module 02 and beyond.
Do not use the word helper in your function name: use a descriptive function name. In this course, tests are not required for helper functions, but they should still have a purpose, a contract, and examples. (Of course, you are welcome to include tests, which can help you ensure your helper functions work correctly.)
In the past, we have seen students avoid writing helper functions because they did not want to provide documentation for them. This is a bad habit that we strongly dis- courage. Writing good helper functions is an essential skill in software development and having to write a purpose and contract should not discourage you from writing a helper function. Marks may be deducted if you are not using helper functions when appropriate.
Helper functions should be placed before the required function(s) in your submis- sion.

Functions we ask you to write require a full design recipe.
Helper functions need a purpose, contract, and at least one example.
3.6.2 Wrapper Functions
Relevance: Module 05 and beyond.
When using wrapper (primary) functions, only one of the functions requires tests. If the required function is the wrapper function, then include the tests with it. Other- wise, use your judgement to choose the function where tests seem most appropriate. Both functions should include examples. In the following example, the tests are in- cluded with the wrapper function remove-from.
(remove-from-list loc c) produces a new list, like loc, but with all occurrences of c removed
remove-from-list: (listof Char) Char -> (listof Char)
;; Examples:
(check-expect (remove-from-list empty #z) empty) (check-expect
(remove-from-list (cons #a (cons #z (cons #b empty))) #z) (cons #a (cons #b empty)))
(define (remove-from-list loc c) (cond [(empty? loc) empty]
[(char=? (first loc) c) (remove-from-list (rest loc) c)] [else (cons (first loc) (remove-from-list (rest loc) c))]))
(remove-from s) produces a new string like s, but with all A and a characters removed
remove-from: Str -> Str
;; Examples:
(check-expect (remove-from #X) )
(check-expect (remove-from ababA #a) bbA) (check-expect (remove-from Waterloo #x) Waterloo)
(define (remove-from s c)
(list->string (remove-from-list (string->list s) c)))
(check-expect (remove-from X #X) ) (check-expect (remove-from A #y) A) (check-expect (remove-from Waterloo #o) Waterl)

(check-expect (remove-from OOOOO #

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