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Formatter

Brief​

Tools can format your code automatically: fix indentation, add spaces consistently, put curly braces where you want them, etc. It saves a lot of time because it means you don't have to worry about it and do it manually! Also, it ensures a consistency in style across the whole codebase and all the developers.

Details​

For C++, Clang format is the most popular one and I would recommend it. Here is how to set it up:

  • First you need to have clangd set up
  • Then go to your VSCode settings and:
    • Set Default Formatter to clangd
    • Enable Format on Save

You will also need to put a configuration file named .clang-format at the root of your project to specify how the formatting should be done. You can use this great website to configure it. Or if you don't want to spend too many time tweaking it yourself, you can use mine: https://github.com/CoolLibs/tooling/blob/main/.clang-format.

tip

Note that in some very specific cases you can disable clang-format locally to use some non-standard formatting, using these special comments:

// clang-format off
void on_mouse_move  (Camera& camera, glm::vec2 const& delta) { std::visit([&](auto&& state) { state.on_mouse_move  (*this, camera, delta); }, _state); }
void on_wheel_down  (Camera& camera, int mods)               { std::visit([&](auto&& state) { state.on_wheel_down  (*this, camera, mods);  }, _state); }
void on_wheel_up    (Camera& camera)                         { std::visit([&](auto&& state) { state.on_wheel_up    (*this, camera);        }, _state); }
void on_wheel_scroll(Camera& camera, float dl)               { std::visit([&](auto&& state) { state.on_wheel_scroll(*this, camera, dl);    }, _state); }
// clang-format on