Fusion internal formatting

[Dionysusnu]

There are currently a few formatting decisions in Fusion, that are not widely used, for a few reasons:

• No trailing commas in multi-line tables, and no newlines at end of files
  • This hurts commit diffs, because adding new code will modify the previous line
• Empty blocks or single statement blocks being multi-line
  • Things like if condition then return end and function() end
  • This is usually just as clean when put on single lines, although admittedly writer preference.
• No whitespace between table brace and items
  • This hurts readability by making tables seem smushed together.
  • This is currently not consistent in the codebase, with only some parts using whitespace.
• Operators are often placed after their left expressions, when their right expression is on the next line
  • This harms readability and looks confusing.
• There are unnecessary empty lines at the starts or ends of blocks
  • As the existing style guide says, this only makes the file harder to read.
• Operators are mixed in whitespace usage, in order to signify precendence
  • Although this helps with detailed looks at math, it harms readability because of the code being too compact.

[dphfox]

This is definitely stuff we need to sort out, so thanks for raising the issue!

Quick comment on:

Empty blocks or single statement blocks being multi-line

I try not to place multiple things on the same line for diffing purposes - imagine we have the following code:

if x < 0 then return end

If we had to add some code to run inside that special case, it wouldn't diff as nicely:

- if x < 0 then return end
+ if x < 0 then
+     doSomething(x)
+     return
+ end

Versus the current standard, which diffs better:

if x < 0 then
    return
end

  if x < 0 then
+     doSomething(x)
      return
  end

By the way, anyone else who has issues with formatting, please drop them in here - we need to review this before we write too much code 🙂

[dphfox]

For reference, the current style guide (needs updating): https://github.com/Elttob/Fusion/blob/main/style-guide.md

[Dionysusnu]

I try not to place multiple things on the same line for diffing purposes - imagine we have the following code:

if x < 0 then return end

If we had to add some code to run inside that special case, it wouldn't diff as nicely:

- if x < 0 then return end
+ if x < 0 then
+     doSomething(x)
+     return
+ end

I don't see this bigger diff as a big issue, because the affected lines are still correct. The reason for trailing commas and final newlines are that the diffs would affect unrelated lines. That's not the case here, so I don't think the same reasoning should apply.

[dphfox]

I think it'll be worth waiting to see what other people think then - I remain unconvinced, but I'm open to changing my mind if other people also think differently.

[Anaminus]

For almost all points, there are going to be no strong reasons to pick one way over the other, and trying to enforce a custom format manually is a exercise in futility. I would recommend finding a formatter (StyLua seems good), pick the configuration that you like, and just roll with that. Any variability allowed by the the formatter is fair game.

[CaptinLetus]

If we strictly use the Roblox Lua guidelines, multiple statements should be on multiple lines https://roblox.github.io/lua-style-guide/#general-punctuation

[autonordev]

I would use the Roblox styleguide - it just saves time having this discussion.

Styleguides tend to be more arbitrary than practical. However special consideration should be given for how the diffs and readers are affected.

[noah-peeters]

Can highly recommend StyLua. It does however automatically create parentheses for constructors like New("Frame" )({}) .

[Dionysusnu]

I would use the Roblox styleguide - it just saves time having this discussion.

Styleguides tend to be more arbitrary than practical. However special consideration should be given for how the diffs and readers are affected.

The Roblox styleguide is quite outdated, and does not cover a range of topics, most notably Luau types.

Can highly recommend StyLua. It does however automatically create parentheses for constructors like New("Frame" )({}) .

This is an ongoing issue in StyLua. https://github.com/JohnnyMorganz/StyLua/issues/242

[dphfox]

Deferring to v0.3