Coding conventions are a set of guidelines for a specific
programming language that recommend
programming style, practices and methods for each aspect of a piece program written in this language. These conventions usually cover file organization,
indentation,
comments,
declarations,
statements,
white space,
naming conventions,
programming practices, , , architectural best practices, etc. These are guidelines for
software structural quality.
Software programmers are highly recommended to follow these guidelines to help improve the
readability of their
source code and make
software maintenance easier. Coding conventions are only applicable to the human maintainers and
peer reviewers of a software project. Conventions may be formalized in a documented set of rules that an entire team or company follows, or may be as informal as the habitual coding practices of an individual. Coding conventions are not enforced by
compilers.