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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/developer-notes.md')
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1 files changed, 66 insertions, 28 deletions
diff --git a/doc/developer-notes.md b/doc/developer-notes.md index f4513dca1f..0a4ad32a2b 100644 --- a/doc/developer-notes.md +++ b/doc/developer-notes.md @@ -1,6 +1,43 @@ Developer Notes =============== +<!-- markdown-toc start --> +**Table of Contents** + +- [Developer Notes](#developer-notes) + - [Coding Style](#coding-style) + - [Doxygen comments](#doxygen-comments) + - [Development tips and tricks](#development-tips-and-tricks) + - [Compiling for debugging](#compiling-for-debugging) + - [Compiling for gprof profiling](#compiling-for-gprof-profiling) + - [debug.log](#debuglog) + - [Testnet and Regtest modes](#testnet-and-regtest-modes) + - [DEBUG_LOCKORDER](#debug_lockorder) + - [Valgrind suppressions file](#valgrind-suppressions-file) + - [Compiling for test coverage](#compiling-for-test-coverage) + - [Locking/mutex usage notes](#lockingmutex-usage-notes) + - [Threads](#threads) + - [Ignoring IDE/editor files](#ignoring-ideeditor-files) +- [Development guidelines](#development-guidelines) + - [General Bitcoin Core](#general-bitcoin-core) + - [Wallet](#wallet) + - [General C++](#general-c) + - [C++ data structures](#c-data-structures) + - [Strings and formatting](#strings-and-formatting) + - [Variable names](#variable-names) + - [Threads and synchronization](#threads-and-synchronization) + - [Source code organization](#source-code-organization) + - [GUI](#gui) + - [Subtrees](#subtrees) + - [Git and GitHub tips](#git-and-github-tips) + - [Scripted diffs](#scripted-diffs) + - [RPC interface guidelines](#rpc-interface-guidelines) + +<!-- markdown-toc end --> + +Coding Style +--------------- + Various coding styles have been used during the history of the codebase, and the result is not very consistent. However, we're now trying to converge to a single style, which is specified below. When writing patches, favor the new @@ -138,43 +175,44 @@ Documentation can be generated with `make docs` and cleaned up with `make clean- Development tips and tricks --------------------------- -**compiling for debugging** +### Compiling for debugging -Run configure with the --enable-debug option, then make. Or run configure with -CXXFLAGS="-g -ggdb -O0" or whatever debug flags you need. +Run configure with `--enable-debug` to add additional compiler flags that +produce better debugging builds. -**compiling for gprof profiling** +### Compiling for gprof profiling -Run configure with the --enable-gprof option, then make. +Run configure with the `--enable-gprof` option, then make. -**debug.log** +### debug.log If the code is behaving strangely, take a look in the debug.log file in the data directory; error and debugging messages are written there. -The -debug=... command-line option controls debugging; running with just -debug or -debug=1 will turn +The `-debug=...` command-line option controls debugging; running with just `-debug` or `-debug=1` will turn on all categories (and give you a very large debug.log file). -The Qt code routes qDebug() output to debug.log under category "qt": run with -debug=qt +The Qt code routes `qDebug()` output to debug.log under category "qt": run with `-debug=qt` to see it. -**testnet and regtest modes** +### Testnet and Regtest modes -Run with the -testnet option to run with "play bitcoins" on the test network, if you +Run with the `-testnet` option to run with "play bitcoins" on the test network, if you are testing multi-machine code that needs to operate across the internet. -If you are testing something that can run on one machine, run with the -regtest option. -In regression test mode, blocks can be created on-demand; see test/functional/ for tests -that run in -regtest mode. +If you are testing something that can run on one machine, run with the `-regtest` option. +In regression test mode, blocks can be created on-demand; see [test/functional/](/test/functional) for tests +that run in `-regtest` mode. -**DEBUG_LOCKORDER** +### DEBUG_LOCKORDER -Bitcoin Core is a multithreaded application, and deadlocks or other multithreading bugs -can be very difficult to track down. Compiling with -DDEBUG_LOCKORDER (configure -CXXFLAGS="-DDEBUG_LOCKORDER -g") inserts run-time checks to keep track of which locks -are held, and adds warnings to the debug.log file if inconsistencies are detected. +Bitcoin Core is a multi-threaded application, and deadlocks or other +multi-threading bugs can be very difficult to track down. The `--enable-debug` +configure option adds `-DDEBUG_LOCKORDER` to the compiler flags. This inserts +run-time checks to keep track of which locks are held, and adds warnings to the +debug.log file if inconsistencies are detected. -**Valgrind suppressions file** +### Valgrind suppressions file Valgrind is a programming tool for memory debugging, memory leak detection, and profiling. The repo contains a Valgrind suppressions file @@ -189,7 +227,7 @@ $ valgrind --suppressions=contrib/valgrind.supp --leak-check=full \ $ valgrind -v --leak-check=full src/bitcoind -printtoconsole ``` -**compiling for test coverage** +### Compiling for test coverage LCOV can be used to generate a test coverage report based upon `make check` execution. LCOV must be installed on your system (e.g. the `lcov` package @@ -209,18 +247,18 @@ Locking/mutex usage notes ------------------------- The code is multi-threaded, and uses mutexes and the -LOCK/TRY_LOCK macros to protect data structures. +`LOCK` and `TRY_LOCK` macros to protect data structures. -Deadlocks due to inconsistent lock ordering (thread 1 locks cs_main -and then cs_wallet, while thread 2 locks them in the opposite order: -result, deadlock as each waits for the other to release its lock) are -a problem. Compile with -DDEBUG_LOCKORDER to get lock order -inconsistencies reported in the debug.log file. +Deadlocks due to inconsistent lock ordering (thread 1 locks `cs_main` and then +`cs_wallet`, while thread 2 locks them in the opposite order: result, deadlock +as each waits for the other to release its lock) are a problem. Compile with +`-DDEBUG_LOCKORDER` (or use `--enable-debug`) to get lock order inconsistencies +reported in the debug.log file. Re-architecting the core code so there are better-defined interfaces between the various components is a goal, with any necessary locking -done by the components (e.g. see the self-contained CBasicKeyStore class -and its cs_KeyStore lock for example). +done by the components (e.g. see the self-contained `CBasicKeyStore` class +and its `cs_KeyStore` lock for example). Threads ------- |