Formatting

• Use ASCII or UTF8
• Use 2 space indent, no tabs
• Use Unix-style line endings
• If a function is more than one line, start the code on the line following the name
• All functions should have stack comments
• Try not to exceed 80 characters per line
• Avoid trailing whitespace
• Closing semicolons should not be on a separate line

Naming

• Use short names for indexes
• Vocabulary names should end with an apostrophe
• Class names should begin with a period
• Constants should be in UPPERCASE
• Use camelCase with the initial word lowercase. Keep acronyms uppercase.
• Use of dotted notation (e.g., list.size) is acceptable for functions operating on a data structure

Comments

• Comments should be enclosed in parenthesis
• Keep comments roughly aligned within a local grouping
• Avoid superfluous comments
• All functions should have stack comments
• A space should preceed the closing parenthesis

Stack Comments

Stack comments in Retro are a compact form, using short codes in place of actual words. These codes are listed in the next section.

A typical comment for a function that takes two arguments and leaves one will look like:

( xy-z )

In a few cases, functions may consume or leave a variable number of arguments. In this case, we denote it like:

( n-n || n- )

There are two other modifiers in use. Some functions have different compile-time and run-time stack use. We prefix the comment with C: for compile-time, and R: for run-time actions.

If not specified, the stack comments are for runtime effects. Functions with no C: are assumed to have no stack impact during compilation.

Code	Used for
x, y, z, n	Generic numbers
q, r	Quotient, Remainder (for division)
"	Function parses for a string
q	Quote
a	Address
$	Zero-terminated string
c	ASCII character
f	Flag
t	Type constant
...	Variable number of values on stack

Documentation

• Use reStructuredText for compatibility
• Try to keeps lines to a max of 80 characters
• Use the following section title adornment styles:

==============
Document Title
==============

------------------------------------------
Document Subtitle, or Major Division Title
------------------------------------------

Section
=======

Subsection
----------

Sub-Subsection
``````````````

Sub-Sub-Subsection
..................

• Use two blank lines before each section/subsection/etc. title. One blank line is sufficient between immediately adjacent titles.
• Documentation should be released under ISC license or CC0
• For libraries: embedded documentation using doc{ should be placed at the end of the file