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C++ Development Guide

This document covers C++ development practices for Nexen.

Build System

Platform Toolset

  • Windows: Visual Studio 2026 (v145)
  • Linux: GCC/Clang with C++23 support

Language Standard

  • C++23 (/std:c++23 on Windows, -std=c++23 on Linux)

Warning Level

  • Windows: /W4 (Level 4)
  • Linux: -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic

Code Quality Tools

clang-tidy

Static analysis tool for C++ code. Configuration in .clang-tidy.

Running clang-tidy

Single file:

clang-tidy --config-file=.clang-tidy Core/MyFile.cpp

All files in a directory:

# Generate compile_commands.json first (CMake or Bear)
clang-tidy -p build Core/*.cpp

Fix issues automatically:

clang-tidy --config-file=.clang-tidy --fix Core/MyFile.cpp

Enabled Checks

Category Description
modernize-* C++11/14/17/20/23 modernization
cppcoreguidelines-* C++ Core Guidelines
performance-* Performance improvements
readability-* Code readability
bugprone-* Bug-prone patterns
clang-analyzer-* Static analysis

Suppressing Warnings

In code:

// NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-use-nullptr)
void* ptr = 0;

void* ptr2 = 0;  // NOLINT(modernize-use-nullptr)

In .clang-tidy: Add to disabled checks list (prefix with -).

clang-format

Code formatting tool. Configuration in .clang-format.

Format file:

clang-format -i Core/MyFile.cpp

Format all files:

find Core Utilities Windows -name "*.cpp" -o -name "*.h" | xargs clang-format -i

Check formatting (CI):

clang-format --dry-run --Werror Core/MyFile.cpp

C++ Style Guide

Naming Conventions

Element Style Example
Class PascalCase NesCpu
Function PascalCase ExecuteInstruction
Variable camelCase frameCount
Private member _prefix _registers
Constant UPPER_CASE MAX_SPRITES
Enum constant UPPER_CASE READ_ONLY

Modern C++ Practices

Smart Pointers

// Prefer unique_ptr for ownership
std::unique_ptr<Console> _console = std::make_unique<Console>();

// shared_ptr when ownership is truly shared
std::shared_ptr<IVideoDevice> _video;

std::span for Buffers

// Instead of pointer + size
void ProcessData(std::span<const uint8_t> data) {
	for (auto byte : data) { /* ... */ }
}

std::optional for Optional Values

std::optional<uint32_t> FindAddress(const std::string& label) {
	auto it = _symbols.find(label);
	if (it != _symbols.end()) {
		return it->second;
	}
	return std::nullopt;
}

std::format for Formatting

// Instead of sprintf
std::string msg = std::format("Address: ${:04x}", address);

Range-based algorithms

// Instead of raw loops
auto count = std::ranges::count_if(sprites, [](auto& s) { 
	return s.visible; 
});

Testing

See CPP-MODERNIZATION-ROADMAP.md for testing infrastructure plans.

Performance

Profiling

  • Windows: Visual Studio Profiler, VTune
  • Linux: perf, Valgrind

AddressSanitizer

Enable for debug builds to catch memory errors:

Windows (VS2022+):

<EnableASAN>true</EnableASAN>

Linux:

-fsanitize=address -fno-omit-frame-pointer

Related Documentation