Programming language guidelines - Revision history

Pm2022: Pm2022 moved page BOSS/Languages to Programming language guidelines

2026-08-26T07:14:01Z

Pm2022 moved page BOSS/Languages to Programming language guidelines

← Older revision	Revision as of 07:14, 26 August 2026
(No difference)

Pm2022: cat

2026-08-26T07:13:29Z

cat

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:13, 26 August 2026
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	So basically in summary write documentation and follow the language's style!		So basically in summary write documentation and follow the language's style!
			[[Category:Bath Open Source Society]]

Pm2022: improve clarity, link to language guidance

2026-08-26T07:11:34Z

improve clarity, link to language guidance

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:11, 26 August 2026
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	~~As this is for students, we want to allow students to~~ use whatever language they feel most comfortable with, ~~especially due to our~~ security and code quality standards.		Students should use whatever language they feel most comfortable with, as this helps maintain security and code quality standards.

	~~However having said that we want a~~ consistent style throughout the projects ~~(which~~ is ~~quite difficult with so many people working on that)~~. So for each language we have used in the past we have written up some code quality guidelines.		A consistent style throughout the projects is desireable. So for each language we have used in the past we have written up some code quality and style guidelines.

	If you are going to write in a new language, please follow the general code quality guidelines below.		If you are going to write in a new language, please follow the general code quality guidelines below.
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	== Recommendations ==		== Recommendations ==

	~~And now as any pedantic programmer, I will give my recommendations~~ for ~~you to be using~~.		=== Language-specific guidance ===

			You can find quality and style guides for specific programming languages in [[:Category:Programming language guidelines]].

	=== Static Sites ===		=== Static Sites ===

	For static sites ~~we ask that you don’t use a programming language and instead~~ use a static site generator like [https://gohugo.io/ hugo] and write the pages in ~~markdown~~.		For static sites it is best to use a static site generator like [https://gohugo.io/ hugo] and write the pages in Markdown.

	This ~~is just to help the simplicity of~~ the page and ~~make~~ it much easier to edit for non-technical people, while also meaning we don’t use Wordpress (it’s insecure).		This keeps the page simple and makes it much easier to edit for non-technical people, while also meaning we don’t use Wordpress (it’s insecure).

	Some static site generators:		Some static site generators:
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	=== Other Projects ===		=== Other Projects ===

	~~We recommend using~~ a language ~~which suites~~ the ~~purposes~~ of your project. ~~As most projects will be~~ websites, ~~we recommend using a language~~ with a good ~~library for this. These include~~:		Always use a language that suits the purpose of your project. For websites, here are some recommendations for languages with good web development support:

	* Rust (using [https://rocket.rs/ rocket])		* Rust (using [https://rocket.rs/ rocket])
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	* Any other sane type safe language		* Any other sane type safe language

	Languages and combos that are not good for this purpose, due to the lack of type safety or ~~insecurity~~:		Languages and combos that are not good for this purpose, due to the lack of type safety or security:

	* TypeScript (unless ~~its~~ just for the frontend or utilising a package which performs runtime type validation)		* TypeScript (unless it's just for the frontend or utilising a package which performs runtime type validation)
	* Python		* Python
	* Perl		* Perl
	* JavaScript (use TypeScript instead for our sanity) - ~~this does not include~~ small scripts for pages.		* JavaScript (use TypeScript instead for our sanity) - except small scripts for pages.
	* Ruby (does not implement some parts of http request spec correctly)		* Ruby (does not implement some parts of http request spec correctly)
	* PHP (due to being run as root in most circumstances, this has significant security vulnerabilities). If you don’t know what this means, look up web shells, almost all of them are PHP so it’s better just not to even have the possibility of being compatible with them.		* PHP (due to being run as root in most circumstances, this has significant security vulnerabilities). If you don’t know what this means, look up web shells, almost all of them are PHP so it’s better just not to even have the possibility of being compatible with them.
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	As we don’t have requirements on what language you should be using, we have some general code quality guidelines.		As we don’t have requirements on what language you should be using, we have some general code quality guidelines.

	However for the languages we have projects in we have written more specific code guidelines.		However for the languages we have projects in we have written more specific code guidelines (see [[:Category:Programming language guidelines]]).

	<ul>		<ul>
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	<li><p>Trailing commas when the bracket on a new line</p></li></ul>		<li><p>Trailing commas when the bracket on a new line</p></li></ul>

	So basically in summary write documentation and follow the ~~language’s~~ style!		So basically in summary write documentation and follow the language's style!

Hw2210: Minor workind update

2026-06-04T07:59:21Z

Minor workind update

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:59, 4 June 2026
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	* Go (using [https://github.com/gorilla/mux gorilla/mux])		* Go (using [https://github.com/gorilla/mux gorilla/mux])
	* Zig		* Zig
			* Any other sane type safe language

	Languages and combos that are not good for this purpose, due to the lack of type safety or insecurity:		Languages and combos that are not good for this purpose, due to the lack of type safety or insecurity:

Hw2210: Translate from boss.bathcs.com and update

2026-06-04T07:57:50Z

Translate from boss.bathcs.com and update

New page

As this is for students, we want to allow students to use whatever language they feel most comfortable with, especially due to our security and code quality standards.

However having said that we want a consistent style throughout the projects (which is quite difficult with so many people working on that). So for each language we have used in the past we have written up some code quality guidelines.

If you are going to write in a new language, please follow the general code quality guidelines below.

== Recommendations ==

And now as any pedantic programmer, I will give my recommendations for you to be using.

=== Static Sites ===

For static sites we ask that you don’t use a programming language and instead use a static site generator like [https://gohugo.io/ hugo] and write the pages in markdown.

This is just to help the simplicity of the page and make it much easier to edit for non-technical people, while also meaning we don’t use Wordpress (it’s insecure).

Some static site generators:

* [https://astro.build/ astro]
* [https://gohugo.io/ hugo]
* [https://www.getzola.org/ zola]

=== Other Projects ===

We recommend using a language which suites the purposes of your project. As most projects will be websites, we recommend using a language with a good library for this. These include:

* Rust (using [https://rocket.rs/ rocket])
* Go (using [https://github.com/gorilla/mux gorilla/mux])
* Zig

Languages and combos that are not good for this purpose, due to the lack of type safety or insecurity:

* TypeScript (unless its just for the frontend or utilising a package which performs runtime type validation)
* Python
* Perl
* JavaScript (use TypeScript instead for our sanity) - this does not include small scripts for pages.
* Ruby (does not implement some parts of http request spec correctly)
* PHP (due to being run as root in most circumstances, this has significant security vulnerabilities). If you don’t know what this means, look up web shells, almost all of them are PHP so it’s better just not to even have the possibility of being compatible with them.
* Any esoteric languages (I feel like they all probably don’t even support this)
* Java (it sucks, use Kotlin instead at least)
* C/C++ (they are not great for webservers): use Zig or Rust instead please

Please also choose a language which another student may be able to read in 5 years time.

== General Guidelines ==

As we don’t have requirements on what language you should be using, we have some general code quality guidelines.

However for the languages we have projects in we have written more specific code guidelines.

<ul>
<li>All functions should be documented (even if it’s just one sentence explaining what it does) using the official documentation standard for a given language e.g. Docstrings for Python, JSDoc for JavaScript + TypeScript etc.
For more complex functions, more descriptive documentation should be included</li>
<li>Prioritise '''readability''' over thousands of comments</li>
<li>Follow language styles and use a linter. For example, in Python follow [https://peps.python.org/pep-0008/ PEP8 standards] with <code>snake_case</code> variable names, in JavaScript and TypeScript follow [https://eslint.org/ ESLint]/[https://biomejs.dev/ Biome] with <code>camelCase</code>.</li>
<li>Please make use of modules + splitting code up into multiple files (sensibly)</li>
<li>'''NO TRAILING WHITESPACE!''' Install an extension to auto remove it please!</li>
<li>Use spaces over tabs (this ensures alignment is correct between machines)</li>
<li>Trailing commas when array or parameters on new lines for all languages which support it (if the language doesn’t support it please question your choice of language). E.g.
<syntaxhighlight lang="py">def my_func(
param1: int,
param2: list[str],
) -> list[int]:
return [
1,
2,
3,
4,
]</syntaxhighlight></li>
<li>Trailing commas when the bracket on a new line</li></ul>

So basically in summary write documentation and follow the language’s style!