petsc-conventions

name: petsc-conventions description: PETSc coding conventions for Fluca. Use when writing or reviewing C code in this project — covers naming, error handling, memory management, function structure, and the quick checklist.

PETSc Coding Conventions for Fluca

This project follows PETSc style. All C code must conform to these rules.

Language

• Pure C (not C++). Intersection of C99, C++11, MSVC v1900+.
• No variable-length arrays. No assert.h (use PetscAssert()). No register. No rand().
• Never use (void)param; casts to suppress unused-parameter warnings. Leave unused parameters as-is; the compiler warnings are suppressed project-wide via build flags.

Naming

Function prototypes in headers exclude parameter names — types only.

Symbol Visibility

Visibility macros (FLUCA_EXTERN, FLUCA_INTERN) are only used in header declarations. Source file definitions do not need them — the declaration in the header is sufficient. Never use bare extern.

Headers under include/**/private/ are internal but still user-accessible. They follow the same rules as public headers — use FLUCA_INTERN for declarations, exclude parameter names from prototypes, etc.

Function Structure

Every function returning PetscErrorCode must follow this skeleton:

PetscErrorCode FlucaFDDoSomething(FlucaFD fd, PetscInt n)
{
  PetscInt i;            /* all locals declared at block (scope) top */

  PetscFunctionBegin;    /* immediately after declarations + blank line */
  /* ... body ... */
  PetscFunctionReturn(PETSC_SUCCESS);  /* only way to return */
}

Rules:

• Blank line between last declaration and PetscFunctionBegin;.
• No blank line immediately after PetscFunctionBegin; or before PetscFunctionReturn().
• Never use bare return in a function that has PetscFunctionBegin.
• Never place a function call inside PetscFunctionReturn(...).
• Use PetscFunctionBeginUser in main() / example code.
• Void-returning functions: PetscFunctionReturnVoid().

Error Handling

/* Correct — wrap every PETSc call */
PetscCall(VecCreate(comm, &v));

/* Wrong — never store and check separately */
PetscErrorCode ierr = VecCreate(comm, &v);
PetscCall(ierr);

• PetscCall() for all PETSc/Fluca function calls.
• PetscCheck(condition, comm, error_code, "message", ...) for runtime assertions.
• PetscAssert() for debug-only assertions (replaces assert()).
• Begin/end macro pairs (PetscOptionsBegin/PetscOptionsEnd) handle errors internally — do not wrap them.

Argument Validation

All public functions must validate arguments between PetscFunctionBegin and the body:

PetscFunctionBegin;
PetscValidHeaderSpecific(fd, FLUCAFD_CLASSID, 1);   /* PETSc object arg */
PetscAssertPointer(ptr, 2);                         /* non-null pointer arg */
PetscValidLogicalCollectiveInt(fd, n, 3);           /* collective int arg */

The number is the 1-based argument position.

Variable Declarations

• All locals at block top (C90 style).
• Group variables of the same type on the same or adjacent lines.
• Pointers of different arity are different types (separate lines).
• Arrays of different size are different types.
• Don't declare pointers and non-pointers in a single line. Same for arrays and non-arrays.

Memory Management

/* Allocate */
PetscCall(PetscNew(&bar));           /* single struct */
PetscCall(PetscMalloc1(n, &arr));    /* array */
PetscCall(PetscCalloc1(n, &arr));    /* zero-initialized array */

/* Free */
PetscCall(PetscFree(arr));

Never use malloc(), calloc(), free() — only PETSc allocation functions.

Formatting

Formatting is enforced by .clang-format (PETSc style) and pre-commit hooks.

Key points for writing new code:

• Indentation: 2 spaces (no tabs).
• Single-statement if/else/for: No braces.

  if (fd->setupcalled) PetscFunctionReturn(PETSC_SUCCESS);
  

• Braces: Required only for multi-statement blocks.
• Preprocessor: #if defined(X) over #ifdef X. Better: PetscDefined(X) at runtime.
• Header guards: #pragma once as first non-comment line.
• Floating-point literals: No trailing zeros after decimal point.
• Enums: Always add a trailing comma after the last enumerator.
• Increment/decrement: Prefer prefix (++i) over postfix (i++).

Comments

/* Single-line block comment with spaces at both ends */

/* Multi-line comment starts with space.
   No asterisks at line beginnings.
   Ends with space before closing. */

// Single-line C++ style comment is only used for TODOs and clang-format directives
// TODO: something to do
// clang-format off

• Never /*No space*/.
• Proper grammar and spelling.

Printf Format Specifiers

PetscInt  n;
PetscReal x;

PetscCall(PetscPrintf(comm, "n = %" PetscInt_FMT "\n", n));    /* PetscInt */
PetscCall(PetscPrintf(comm, "x = %g\n", (double)x));           /* PetscReal: cast to double */

Object Lifecycle

All PETSc-style objects in Fluca follow: Create → SetType → SetFromOptions → SetUp → Use → Destroy.

FlucaFD fd;
PetscCall(FlucaFDCreate(comm, &fd));
PetscCall(FlucaFDSetType(fd, FLUCAFDDERIVATIVE));
PetscCall(FlucaFDSetFromOptions(fd));
PetscCall(FlucaFDSetUp(fd));
/* ... use fd ... */
PetscCall(FlucaFDDestroy(&fd));   /* Destroy takes pointer-to-pointer */

Logging

• Call PetscLogFlops() directly with the flop count. Never accumulate in a local counter.
• Register events with PetscLogEventRegister() and bracket with PetscLogEventBegin/End.

Quick Core Checklist

• PascalCase functions with module prefix, UPPER_SNAKE_CASE enums/macros, suffixes for internal/private symbols
• PetscFunctionBegin / PetscFunctionReturn(PETSC_SUCCESS) in every function
• All PETSc calls wrapped in PetscCall()
• Public functions validate args with PetscValidHeaderSpecific etc.
• FLUCA_EXTERN / FLUCA_INTERN in header declarations, static for file-local symbols in source files
• Memory via PetscNew / PetscMalloc* / PetscFree only
• PetscInt for indices/sizes, PetscScalar for floating point
• Format specifiers: PetscInt_FMT, cast PetscReal to double
• No bare return, no malloc/free, no assert(), no VLAs
• Locals at block (scope) top, blank line before PetscFunctionBegin, no blank line before PetscFunctionReturn
• _Internal, _Private, or class/type name suffix on all non-public functions
• Functions that may raise an error (via PetscCall, SETERRQ, PetscCheck) must return PetscErrorCode
• No braces for single-statement if/else/for
• No trailing zeros after decimal point