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CA-CLIPPER
PROGRAMMING

Language Syntax
The general rule of thumb is: built-in features in lowercase, and custom-written functions in mixed case.
When specifying the complete syntax of a language element in documentation, the input items, parameters, and so on are referred to using the following symbols:

	Symbol		Description

	< >		Indicates user input item
	( )		Indicates function argument list
	[ ]		Indicates optional item or list
	{ }		Indicates code block or literal array
	\| \|		Indicates code block argument list
	-->		Indicates function return value
	...		Repeated elements if followed by a symbol Intervening code if followed by a keyword
	,		Item list separator
	\|		Indicates two or more mutually exclusive options
	@		Indicates that an item must be passed by reference
	*		Indicates a compatibility command or function

For example:

    len(<cString>|<aArray>) --> nLength

Metasymbols provide a place holder for syntax elements, and they describe the expected data types. A metasymbol consists of one or more lowercase data type designators followed by a mixed case description. This is known as Hungarian Notation.

	Designator		Description

	a		Array
	b		Code block
	c		Character expression
	d		Date expression
	exp		Expression of any type
	id		Literal identifier
	l		Logical expression
	m		Memo field
	n		Numeric expression
	o		Object
	x		Extended expression

In this example, dnLower and dnUpper can be either date or numeric:

    @...get...range <dnLower>, <dnUpper>

Filenames and Aliases
All filenames, in any context, are in upper case. Filenames follow DOS naming conventions (preferably limited to letters, numbers, and the underscore).

    use CUSTOMER
    nHandle := fopen('DATAFILE.DAT')

When referring to specific file types in documentation, include the period.
e.g. "A program is stored in a text file with a .PRG extension."
Alias names follow the same conventions as filenames, but are limited to A-Z, 0-9, and the underscore. If a filename begins with a number or contains unusual characters, an alias must be specified when the file is opened or an error will result.
Note that CA-Clipper does not natively support Windows 95 long filenames, although third-party libraries are available to add the capability.

Fieldnames
Fieldnames are all uppercase, and always include the alias of the table. Fieldnames may contain underscores, but should not begin with one (because the underscore is generally used to indicate an internal symbol).

    @ 10, 10 say BANKS->BRANCH
    nAge := CUSTOMER->CUST_AGE

Memory Variables
Memory variables consist of a lowercase type designator followed by a mixed case description (see Hungarian Notation). Although CA-Clipper only recognizes the first 10 characters as unique, variable names may be longer.

    cString := "Hello World"
    nYearlyAverage := CalcYearAvg()

If you use Hungarian Notation for your memory variable names and include the table alias with fieldnames, there will be no conflict between the two.

Commands, Functions, and Keywords
All built-in commands, functions, and keywords are lowercase. In documentation, the font should be Courier or a similar font. If fonts are not available, then bold or CAPITALIZE the word for emphasis.
Never use abbreviations -- this practice is not necessary with a compiler, although it was common in the early days of dBase (which was an interpreter).
There should never be a space between the function name and the opening parenthesis. Also, note that the iif() function should never be spelled if().

    replace CUSTOMER->CUSTNAME with cCustName
    nKey := inkey(0)

When specifying commands that have clauses in documentation, separate the keywords with an ellipsis (...) and do not include the to clause, unless it is followed by the file, print, or screen keywords.

    copy...sdf
    set message...center
    @...say...get

Programmer-Defined Functions & Procedures
These begin with an uppercase letter, followed by mixed case letters as appropriate.

    ? StripBlanks("Hello there, this will have no spaces.")

Function and procedure names may contain underscores, but should not begin with one (they may conflict with internal functions which often start with an underscore). There should be only one return statement per function or procedure, and it should not be indented.

    function SomeFunc (...)
      .
      . <statements>
      .
    return cResult

The return value of a function is not enclosed in parentheses, although parentheses may be used to clarify a complex expression.

    return nValue
    return (nCode * 47) + nAnswer

Preprocessor Directives
Preprocessor directives are lowercase and are preceded by the # sign.

    #include 'INKEY.CH'

Optionally, you may use single quotes around header files that come with CA-Clipper and double quotes around your own. This convention is purely voluntary, but it helps to distinguish between the two. For example:

    #include 'INKEY.CH'
    #include "MY_APP.CH"

Manifest constants are uppercase.

    #define ESCAPE   27
    if lastkey() == ESCAPE

Pseudo-function names should also be uppercase.

    #define AREA(length, width)   ((length)*(width))

Declarations
Local variables are grouped according to functionality, and may be declared on one or more lines. The declarations appear as the first code at the beginning of a function or procedure.

    procedure Main ( )
    local nTop, nLeft, nBottom, nRight
    local cOldScreen, cOldColor, nOldCursor

Variables may be declared one per line and accompanied by a description.

    local nCount        // Number of records found.
    local nTotal        // Sum of dollars.

The description can be omitted if better variable names are chosen.

    local nRecordCount
    local nDollarTotal

Variables can be initialized when they are declared, although it is often clearer (and safer) to initialize them immediately before they are used.

    local nRecordCount:=0
    local nDollarTotal:=0

Logicals
The .T. and .F. are typed in uppercase.

Operators
The in-line assignment operator (:=) is used for all assignments, and the exact comparison operator (==) is used for all comparisons.

    lContinue := .T.
    nOfficeTotal := nRegionTotal := 0
    lDuplicate := (CUSTFILE->CUSTNAME == cCustName)
    if nLineCount == 4  ...
    if left(PRODUCT->CODE, 3) == left(cProdCode, 3)  ...

Although the compound assignment operators (+=, -=, *=, etc.) are convenient, they should not be used if readability suffers.

    // The traditional way to accumulate:
    nTotal := nTotal + INVDETAIL->PRICE
    // A good use of a compound assignment operator:
    nTotal += INVDETAIL->PRICE
    // But what does this do?
    nVal **= 2

The increment (++) and decrement (--) operators are convenient, but can lead to obscure code because of the difference between prefix and postfix usage.

    nRecCount++
    nY := nX-- - --nX        // Huh?

Spacing
Whenever a list of two or more items is separated by commas, the commas are followed by a space.

    MyFunc(nChoice, 10, 20, .T.)

Spaces may be used between successive parentheses.

    DoCalc( (nItem > nTotal), .F. )
    cNewStr := iif( empty(cStr), cNewStr, cStr + chr(13) )

Spaces should surround all operators for readability.

    nValue := 14 + 5 - (6 / 4)

In declarations, often spaces are not used around the assignment operator. This tends to make searching for the declaration of a variable easier.

    local lResult:=.F., nX:=0

Thus, searching for "nX :=" would find the lines where an assignment is made, while searching for "nX:=" would find the declaration line (such as the local above).

Indentation
Indenting control structures is one of the easiest techniques, yet it improves the readability the most.
Indent control structures and the code within functions and procedures 3 spaces.

    procedure SaySomething
       do while .T.
          if nTotal < 50
             ? "Less than 50."
          elseif nTotal > 50
             ? "Greater than 50."
          else
             ? "Equal to 50."
          endif
          ...
       enddo
    return

Case statements in a do...case structure are also indented 3 spaces.

    do case
       case nChoice == 1
          ? "Choice is 1"
       case ...
          ...
       otherwise
          ...
    endcase

Tabs
Do not use tabs in source code -- insert spaces instead. Tabs cause problems when printing or when moving from one editor to another, because of the lack of a standard tab width between editors and printers. Typically, printers expand tabs to 8 spaces which easily causes nested control structures to fall off the right-hand side of the page. Commonly, a source code editing program will insert the appropriate number of spaces when the <TAB> key is hit.

Line Continuation
When a line of code approaches the 80th column, interrupt the code at an appropriate spot with a semicolon and continue on the next line. Indent the line so that it lines up in a readable manner.

    set filter to CUSTFILE->NAME  == 'John Smith  ';
            .and. CUSTFILE->STATE == 'OR'

To continue a character string, end the first line with a quote and a plus sign and place the remainder on the next line. Try to choose a logical place in the string to break it, either at a punctuation mark or after a space.

    @ 10, 10 say "The lazy brown fox tripped over " + ;
                 "the broken branch."

Quotes
Use double quotes for text that needs to be translated (will appear on the screen), and single quotes for other strings.

    ? "Hello World!"
    cColor := 'W+/B'
    SelectArea('PROP')

This is a simple but extremely effective technique because translation departments often want to see the messages in context (in the source code), so the different quote types indicate which messages are to be translated and which should be left alone.

Comments
Comments are structured just like English sentences, with a capital letter at the beginning and a period at the end.

    // Just like a sentence.
    /* This comment is longer. As you
       can see, it takes up two lines */

You may encounter old-style comment indicators if you maintain older (Summer'87 and earlier) code.

    && This is an older-style of comment indicator.
    *  The asterisk is also old.

For in-line comments, use the double slashes.

    use CUSTOMER            // Open the data file.
    goto bottom             // The last record.

Note that the '//' of in-line comments begins at column 40, if possible. This leaves enough room for a useful comment.