Coding standard

A coding standard (also known as code convention) is a document which defines conventions to be used in the writing of software source code. A coding standard will typically define a standard way of authoring error messages, collecting input, formatting the source text and more.

Examples of commonly used coding standards include the GNU Coding Standard[?] and Code Conventions for the Java™ language[?]. Numerous more informal code styles[?] have been defined also. Code styles typically only define how the text is formatted, as opposed to more general best practices.