flectra/doc/reference/guidelines.rst

:banner: banners/flectra_guidelines.jpg

.. highlight:: python

==================
Flectra Guidelines
==================

This page introduces the new Flectra Coding Guidelines. Those aim to improve the quality of the code (e.g. better readability of source) and Flectra Apps. Indeed, proper code eases maintenance, aids debugging, lowers complexity and promotes reliability.

These guidelines should be applied to every new module, and new development.

.. warning::

    These guidelines are written with new modules and new files in mind. When
    modifying existing files, the original style of the file strictly supersedes
    any other style guidelines. In other words, never modify existing files in
    order to apply these guidelines, to avoid disrupting the revision history of
    each line. For more details, see our `pull request guide
    <https://flectrahq.com/submit-pr>`_.

Module structure
================

Directories
-----------
A module is organised in important directories. Those contain the business logic; having a look at them should make you understand the purpose of the module.

- *data/* : demo and data xml
- *models/* : models definition
- *controllers/* : contains controllers (HTTP routes).
- *views/* : contains the views and templates
- *static/* : contains the web assets, separated into *css/, js/, img/, lib/, ...*

Other optional directories compose the module.

- *wizard/* : regroups the transient models (formerly *osv_memory*) and their views.
- *report/* : contains the reports (RML report **[deprecated]**, models based on SQL views (for reporting) and other complex reports). Python objects and XML views are included in this directory.
- *tests/* : contains the Python/YML tests


File naming
-----------
For *views* declarations, split backend views from (frontend)
templates in 2 differents files.

For *models*, split the business logic by sets of models, in each set
select a main model, this model gives its name to the set. If there is
only one model, its name is the same as the module name. For
each set named <main_model> the following files may be created:

- :file:`models/{<main_model>}.py`
- :file:`models/{<inherited_main_model>}.py`
- :file:`views/{<main_model>}_templates.xml`
- :file:`views/{<main_model>}_views.xml`

For instance, *sale* module introduces ``sale_order`` and
``sale_order_line`` where ``sale_order`` is dominant. So the
``<main_model>`` files will be named :file:`models/sale_order.py` and
:file:`views/sale_order_views.py`.

For *data*, split them by purpose : demo or data. The filename will be
the main_model name, suffixed by *_demo.xml* or *_data.xml*.

For *controllers*, the only file should be named *main.py*. Otherwise, if you need to inherit an existing controller from another module, its name will be *<module_name>.py*. Unlike *models*, each controller class should be contained in a separated file.

For *static files*, since the resources can be used in different contexts (frontend, backend, both), they will be included in only one bundle. So, CSS/Less, JavaScript and XML files should be suffixed with the name of the bundle type. i.e.: *im_chat_common.css*, *im_chat_common.js* for 'assets_common' bundle, and *im_chat_backend.css*, *im_chat_backend.js* for 'assets_backend' bundle.
If the module owns only one file, the convention will be *<module_name>.ext* (i.e.: *project.js*).
Don't link data (image, libraries) outside Flectra: do not use an
URL to an image but copy it in our codebase instead.

Regarding *data*, split them by purpose: data or demo. The filename will be
the *main_model* name, suffixed by *_data.xml* or *_demo.xml*.

Regarding *wizards*, naming convention is :

- :file:`{<main_transient>}.py`
- :file:`{<main_transient>}_views.xml`

Where *<main_transient>* is the name of the dominant transient model, just like for *models*. <main_transient>.py can contains the models 'model.action' and 'model.action.line'.

For *statistics reports*, their names should look like :

- :file:`{<report_name_A>}_report.py`
- :file:`{<report_name_A>}_report_views.py` (often pivot and graph views)

For *printable reports*, you should have :

- :file:`{<print_report_name>}_reports.py` (report actions, paperformat definition, ...)
- :file:`{<print_report_name>}_templates.xml` (xml report templates)


The complete tree should look like

.. code-block:: text

    addons/<my_module_name>/
    |-- __init__.py
    |-- __manifest__.py
    |-- controllers/
    |   |-- __init__.py
    |   |-- <inherited_module_name>.py
    |   `-- main.py
    |-- data/
    |   |-- <main_model>_data.xml
    |   `-- <inherited_main_model>_demo.xml
    |-- models/
    |   |-- __init__.py
    |   |-- <main_model>.py
    |   `-- <inherited_main_model>.py
    |-- report/
    |   |-- __init__.py
    |   |-- <main_stat_report_model>.py
    |   |-- <main_stat_report_model>_views.xml
    |   |-- <main_print_report>_reports.xml
    |   `-- <main_print_report>_templates.xml
    |-- security/
    |   |-- ir.model.access.csv
    |   `-- <main_model>_security.xml
    |-- static/
    |   |-- img/
    |   |   |-- my_little_kitten.png
    |   |   `-- troll.jpg
    |   |-- lib/
    |   |   `-- external_lib/
    |   `-- src/
    |       |-- js/
    |       |   `-- <my_module_name>.js
    |       |-- css/
    |       |   `-- <my_module_name>.css
    |       |-- less/
    |       |   `-- <my_module_name>.less
    |       `-- xml/
    |           `-- <my_module_name>.xml
    |-- views/
    |   |-- <main_model>_templates.xml
    |   |-- <main_model>_views.xml
    |   |-- <inherited_main_model>_templates.xml
    |   `-- <inherited_main_model>_views.xml
    `-- wizard/
        |-- <main_transient_A>.py
        |-- <main_transient_A>_views.xml
        |-- <main_transient_B>.py
        `-- <main_transient_B>_views.xml

.. note:: File names should only contain ``[a-z0-9_]`` (lowercase
          alphanumerics and ``_``)

.. warning:: Use correct file permissions : folder 755 and file 644.

XML files
=========

Format
------
To declare a record in XML, the **record** notation (using *<record>*) is recommended:

- Place ``id`` attribute before ``model``
- For field declaration, ``name`` attribute is first. Then place the
  *value* either in the ``field`` tag, either in the ``eval``
  attribute, and finally other attributes (widget, options, ...)
  ordered by importance.

- Try to group the record by model. In case of dependencies between
  action/menu/views, this convention may not be applicable.
- Use naming convention defined at the next point
- The tag *<data>* is only used to set not-updatable data with ``noupdate=1``.
  If there is only not-updatable data in the file, the ``noupdate=1`` can be
  set on the ``<flectra>`` tag and do not set a ``<data>`` tag.

.. code-block:: xml

    <record id="view_id" model="ir.ui.view">
        <field name="name">view.name</field>
        <field name="model">object_name</field>
        <field name="priority" eval="16"/>
        <field name="arch" type="xml">
            <tree>
                <field name="my_field_1"/>
                <field name="my_field_2" string="My Label" widget="statusbar" statusbar_visible="draft,sent,progress,done" />
            </tree>
        </field>
    </record>

Flectra supports custom tags acting as syntactic sugar:

- menuitem: use it as a shortcut to declare a ``ir.ui.menu``
- template: use it to declare a QWeb View requiring only the ``arch`` section of the view.
- report: use to declare a :ref:`report action <reference/actions/report>`
- act_window: use it if the record notation can't do what you want

The 4 first tags are prefered over the *record* notation.


Naming xml_id
-------------

Security, View and Action
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Use the following pattern :

* For a menu: :samp:`{<model_name>}_menu`
* For a view: :samp:`{<model_name>}_view_{<view_type>}`, where *view_type* is
  ``kanban``, ``form``, ``tree``, ``search``, ...
* For an action: the main action respects :samp:`{<model_name>}_action`.
  Others are suffixed with :samp:`_{<detail>}`, where *detail* is a
  lowercase string briefly explaining the action.
  This is used only if multiple actions are declared for the
  model.
* For a group: :samp:`{<model_name>}_group_{<group_name>}` where *group_name*
  is the name of the group, generally 'user', 'manager', ...
* For a rule: :samp:`{<model_name>}_rule_{<concerned_group>}` where
  *concerned_group* is the short name of the concerned group ('user'
  for the 'model_name_group_user', 'public' for public user, 'company'
  for multi-company rules, ...).
* For a group : :samp:`{<model_name>}_group_{<group_name>}` where *group_name* is the name of the group, generally 'user', 'manager', ...

.. code-block:: xml

    <!-- views and menus -->
    <record id="model_name_view_form" model="ir.ui.view">
        ...
    </record>

    <record id="model_name_view_kanban" model="ir.ui.view">
        ...
    </record>

    <menuitem
        id="model_name_menu_root"
        name="Main Menu"
        sequence="5"
    />
    <menuitem
        id="model_name_menu_action"
        name="Sub Menu 1"
        parent="module_name.module_name_menu_root"
        action="model_name_action"
        sequence="10"
    />

    <!-- actions -->
    <record id="model_name_action" model="ir.actions.act_window">
        ...
    </record>

    <record id="model_name_action_child_list" model="ir.actions.act_window">
        ...
    </record>

    <!-- security -->
    <record id="module_name_group_user" model="res.groups">
        ...
    </record>

    <record id="model_name_rule_public" model="ir.rule">
        ...
    </record>

    <record id="model_name_rule_company" model="ir.rule">
        ...
    </record>



.. note:: View names use dot notation ``my.model.view_type`` or
          ``my.model.view_type.inherit`` instead of *"This is the form view of
          My Model"*.


Inherited XML
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The naming pattern of inherited view is
:samp:`{<base_view>}_inherit_{<current_module_name>}`. A module may only
extend a view once.  Suffix the orginal name with
:samp:`_inherit_{<current_module_name>}` where *current_module_name* is the
technical name of the module extending the view.


.. code-block:: xml

    <record id="inherited_model_view_form_inherit_my_module" model="ir.ui.view">
        ...
    </record>


Python
======

PEP8 options
------------

Using a linter can help show syntax and semantic warnings or errors. Flectra
source code tries to respect Python standard, but some of them can be ignored.

- E501: line too long
- E301: expected 1 blank line, found 0
- E302: expected 2 blank lines, found 1
- E126: continuation line over-indented for hanging indent
- E123: closing bracket does not match indentation of opening bracket's line
- E127: continuation line over-indented for visual indent
- E128: continuation line under-indented for visual indent
- E265: block comment should start with '# '

Imports
-------
The imports are ordered as

#. External libraries (one per line sorted and split in python stdlib)
#. Imports of ``flectra``
#. Imports from Flectra modules (rarely, and only if necessary)

Inside these 3 groups, the imported lines are alphabetically sorted.

.. code-block:: python

    # 1 : imports of python lib
    import base64
    import re
    import time
    from datetime import datetime
    # 2 :  imports of flectra
    import flectra
    from flectra import api, fields, models # alphabetically ordered
    from flectra.tools.safe_eval import safe_eval as eval
    from flectra.tools.translate import _
    # 3 :  imports from flectra modules
    from flectra.addons.website.models.website import slug
    from flectra.addons.web.controllers.main import login_redirect


Idiomatics Python Programming
-----------------------------

- Each python file should have ``# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-`` as first line.
- Always favor *readability* over *conciseness* or using the language features or idioms.
- Don't use ``.clone()``

.. code-block:: python

    # bad
    new_dict = my_dict.clone()
    new_list = old_list.clone()
    # good
    new_dict = dict(my_dict)
    new_list = list(old_list)

- Python dictionary : creation and update

.. code-block:: python

    # -- creation empty dict
    my_dict = {}
    my_dict2 = dict()

    # -- creation with values
    # bad
    my_dict = {}
    my_dict['foo'] = 3
    my_dict['bar'] = 4
    # good
    my_dict = {'foo': 3, 'bar': 4}

    # -- update dict
    # bad
    my_dict['foo'] = 3
    my_dict['bar'] = 4
    my_dict['baz'] = 5
    # good
    my_dict.update(foo=3, bar=4, baz=5)
    my_dict = dict(my_dict, **my_dict2)

- Use meaningful variable/class/method names
- Useless variable : Temporary variables can make the code clearer by giving
  names to objects, but that doesn't mean you should create temporary variables
  all the time:

.. code-block:: python

    # pointless
    schema = kw['schema']
    params = {'schema': schema}
    # simpler
    params = {'schema': kw['schema']}

- Multiple return points are OK, when they're simpler

.. code-block:: python

    # a bit complex and with a redundant temp variable
    def axes(self, axis):
            axes = []
            if type(axis) == type([]):
                    axes.extend(axis)
            else:
                    axes.append(axis)
            return axes

     # clearer
    def axes(self, axis):
            if type(axis) == type([]):
                    return list(axis) # clone the axis
            else:
                    return [axis] # single-element list

- Know your builtins : You should at least have a basic understanding of all
  the Python builtins (http://docs.python.org/library/functions.html)

.. code-block:: python

    value = my_dict.get('key', None) # very very redundant
    value = my_dict.get('key') # good

Also, ``if 'key' in my_dict`` and ``if my_dict.get('key')`` have very different
meaning, be sure that you're using the right one.

- Learn list comprehensions : Use list comprehension, dict comprehension, and
  basic manipulation using ``map``, ``filter``, ``sum``, ... They make the code
  easier to read.

.. code-block:: python

    # not very good
    cube = []
    for i in res:
            cube.append((i['id'],i['name']))
    # better
    cube = [(i['id'], i['name']) for i in res]

- Collections are booleans too : In python, many objects have "boolean-ish" value
  when evaluated in a boolean context (such as an if). Among these are collections
  (lists, dicts, sets, ...) which are "falsy" when empty and "truthy" when containing
  items:

.. code-block:: python

    bool([]) is False
    bool([1]) is True
    bool([False]) is True

So, you can write ``if some_collection:`` instead of ``if len(some_collection):``.


- Iterate on iterables

.. code-block:: python

    # creates a temporary list and looks bar
    for key in my_dict.keys():
            "do something..."
    # better
    for key in my_dict:
            "do something..."
    # accessing the key,value pair
    for key, value in my_dict.items():
            "do something..."

- Use dict.setdefault

.. code-block:: python

    # longer.. harder to read
    values = {}
    for element in iterable:
        if element not in values:
            values[element] = []
        values[element].append(other_value)

    # better.. use dict.setdefault method
    values = {}
    for element in iterable:
        values.setdefault(element, []).append(other_value)

- As a good developper, document your code (docstring on methods, simple
  comments for tricky part of code)
- In additions to these guidelines, you may also find the following link
  interesting: http://python.net/~goodger/projects/pycon/2007/idiomatic/handout.html
  (a little bit outdated, but quite relevant)

Programming in Flectra
----------------------

- Avoid to create generators and decorators: only use the ones provided by
  the Flectra API.
- As in python, use ``filtered``, ``mapped``, ``sorted``, ... methods to
  ease code reading and performance.


Make your method work in batch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When adding a function, make sure it can process multiple records. Typically,
such methods are decorated with the ``api.multi`` decorator. Then you will have
to iterate on ``self`` to treat each record.

.. code-block:: python

    @api.multi
    def my_method(self)
        for record in self:
            record.do_cool_stuff()

Avoid to use ``api.one``  decorator : this will probably not do what you expected,
and extending a such method is not as easy than a *api.multi* method, since it
returns a list of result (ordered by recordset ids).

For performance issue, when developping a 'stat button' (for instance), do not
perform a ``search`` or a ``search_count`` in a loop in a ``api.multi`` method. It
is recommended to use ``read_group`` method, to compute all value in only one request.

.. code-block:: python

    @api.multi
    def _compute_equipment_count(self):
    """ Count the number of equipement per category """
        equipment_data = self.env['hr.equipment'].read_group([('category_id', 'in', self.ids)], ['category_id'], ['category_id'])
        mapped_data = dict([(m['category_id'][0], m['category_id_count']) for m in equipment_data])
        for category in self:
            category.equipment_count = mapped_data.get(category.id, 0)


Propagate the context
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The context is a ``frozendict`` that cannot be modified. To call a method with
a different context, the ``with_context`` method should be used :

.. code-block:: python

    records.with_context(new_context).do_stuff() # all the context is replaced
    records.with_context(**additionnal_context).do_other_stuff() # additionnal_context values override native context ones

Passing parameter in context can have dangerous side-effects. Since the values
are propagated automatically, some behavior can appears. Calling ``create()``
method of a model with *default_my_field* key in context will set the default
value of *my_field* for the concerned model. But if curing this creation, other
object (such as sale.order.line, on sale.order creation) having a field
name *my_field*, their default value will be set too.

If you need to create a key context influencing the behavior of some object,
choice a good name, and eventually prefix it by the name of the module to
isolate its impact. A good example are the keys of ``mail`` module :
*mail_create_nosubscribe*, *mail_notrack*, *mail_notify_user_signature*, ...


Do not bypass the ORM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You should never use the database cursor directly when the ORM can do the same
thing! By doing so you are bypassing all the ORM features, possibly the
transactions, access rights and so on.

And chances are that you are also making the code harder to read and probably
less secure.

.. code-block:: python

    # very very wrong
    self.env.cr.execute('SELECT id FROM auction_lots WHERE auction_id in (' + ','.join(map(str, ids))+') AND state=%s AND obj_price > 0', ('draft',))
    auction_lots_ids = [x[0] for x in self.env.cr.fetchall()]

    # no injection, but still wrong
    self.env.cr.execute('SELECT id FROM auction_lots WHERE auction_id in %s '\
               'AND state=%s AND obj_price > 0', (tuple(ids), 'draft',))
    auction_lots_ids = [x[0] for x in self.env.cr.fetchall()]

    # better
    auction_lots_ids = self.search([('auction_id','in',ids), ('state','=','draft'), ('obj_price','>',0)])


No SQL injections, please !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Care must be taken not to introduce SQL injections vulnerabilities when using
manual SQL queries. The vulnerability is present when user input is either
incorrectly filtered or badly quoted, allowing an attacker to introduce
undesirable clauses to a SQL query (such as circumventing filters or
executing UPDATE or DELETE commands).

The best way to be safe is to never, NEVER use Python string concatenation (+)
or string parameters interpolation (%) to pass variables to a SQL query string.

The second reason, which is almost as important, is that it is the job of the
database abstraction layer (psycopg2) to decide how to format query parameters,
not your job! For example psycopg2 knows that when you pass a list of values
it needs to format them as a comma-separated list, enclosed in parentheses !

.. code-block:: python

    # the following is very bad:
    #   - it's a SQL injection vulnerability
    #   - it's unreadable
    #   - it's not your job to format the list of ids
    self.env.cr.execute('SELECT distinct child_id FROM account_account_consol_rel ' +
               'WHERE parent_id IN ('+','.join(map(str, ids))+')')

    # better
    self.env.cr.execute('SELECT DISTINCT child_id '\
               'FROM account_account_consol_rel '\
               'WHERE parent_id IN %s',
               (tuple(ids),))

This is very important, so please be careful also when refactoring, and most
importantly do not copy these patterns!

Here is a memorable example to help you remember what the issue is about (but
do not copy the code there). Before continuing, please be sure to read the
online documentation of pyscopg2 to learn of to use it properly:

- The problem with query parameters (http://initd.org/psycopg/docs/usage.html#the-problem-with-the-query-parameters)
- How to pass parameters with psycopg2 (http://initd.org/psycopg/docs/usage.html#passing-parameters-to-sql-queries)
- Advanced parameter types (http://initd.org/psycopg/docs/usage.html#adaptation-of-python-values-to-sql-types)


Keep your methods short/simple when possible
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Functions and methods should not contain too much logic: having a lot of small
and simple methods is more advisable than having few large and complex methods.
A good rule of thumb is to split a method as soon as:
- it has more than one responsibility (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_responsibility_principle)
- it is too big to fit on one screen.

Also, name your functions accordingly: small and properly named functions are the starting point of readable/maintainable code and tighter documentation.

This recommendation is also relevant for classes, files, modules and packages. (See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclomatic_complexity)


Never commit the transaction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Flectra framework is in charge of providing the transactional context for
all RPC calls. The principle is that a new database cursor is opened at the
beginning of each RPC call, and committed when the call has returned, just
before transmitting the answer to the RPC client, approximately like this:

.. code-block:: python

    def execute(self, db_name, uid, obj, method, *args, **kw):
        db, pool = pooler.get_db_and_pool(db_name)
        # create transaction cursor
        cr = db.cursor()
        try:
            res = pool.execute_cr(cr, uid, obj, method, *args, **kw)
            cr.commit() # all good, we commit
        except Exception:
            cr.rollback() # error, rollback everything atomically
            raise
        finally:
            cr.close() # always close cursor opened manually
        return res

If any error occurs during the execution of the RPC call, the transaction is
rolled back atomically, preserving the state of the system.

Similarly, the system also provides a dedicated transaction during the execution
of tests suites, so it can be rolled back or not depending on the server
startup options.

The consequence is that if you manually call ``cr.commit()`` anywhere there is
a very high chance that you will break the system in various ways, because you
will cause partial commits, and thus partial and unclean rollbacks, causing
among others:

#. inconsistent business data, usually data loss
#. workflow desynchronization, documents stuck permanently
#. tests that can't be rolled back cleanly, and will start polluting the
   database, and triggering error (this is true even if no error occurs
   during the transaction)

Here is the very simple rule:
    You should **NEVER** call ``cr.commit()`` yourself, **UNLESS** you have
    created your own database cursor explicitly! And the situations where you
    need to do that are exceptional!

    And by the way if you did create your own cursor, then you need to handle
    error cases and proper rollback, as well as properly close the cursor when
    you're done with it.

And contrary to popular belief, you do not even need to call ``cr.commit()``
in the following situations:
- in the ``_auto_init()`` method of an *models.Model* object: this is taken
care of by the addons initialization method, or by the ORM transaction when
creating custom models
- in reports: the ``commit()`` is handled by the framework too, so you can
update the database even from within a report
- within *models.Transient* methods: these methods are called exactly like
regular *models.Model* ones, within a transaction and with the corresponding
``cr.commit()/rollback()`` at the end
- etc. (see general rule above if you have in doubt!)

All ``cr.commit()`` calls outside of the server framework from now on must
have an **explicit comment** explaining why they are absolutely necessary, why
they are indeed correct, and why they do not break the transactions. Otherwise
they can and will be removed !


Use translation method correctly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flectra uses a GetText-like method named "underscore" ``_( )`` to indicate that
a static string used in the code needs to be translated at runtime using the
language of the context. This pseudo-method is accessed within your code by
importing as follows:

.. code-block:: python

    from flectra.tools.translate import _

A few very important rules must be followed when using it, in order for it to
work and to avoid filling the translations with useless junk.

Basically, this method should only be used for static strings written manually
in the code, it will not work to translate field values, such as Product names,
etc. This must be done instead using the translate flag on the corresponding
field.

The rule is very simple: calls to the underscore method should always be in
the form ``_('literal string')`` and nothing else:

.. code-block:: python

    # good: plain strings
    error = _('This record is locked!')

    # good: strings with formatting patterns included
    error = _('Record %s cannot be modified!') % record

    # ok too: multi-line literal strings
    error = _("""This is a bad multiline example
                 about record %s!""") % record
    error = _('Record %s cannot be modified' \
              'after being validated!') % record

    # bad: tries to translate after string formatting
    #      (pay attention to brackets!)
    # This does NOT work and messes up the translations!
    error = _('Record %s cannot be modified!' % record)

    # bad: dynamic string, string concatenation, etc are forbidden!
    # This does NOT work and messes up the translations!
    error = _("'" + que_rec['question'] + "' \n")

    # bad: field values are automatically translated by the framework
    # This is useless and will not work the way you think:
    error = _("Product %s is out of stock!") % _(product.name)
    # and the following will of course not work as already explained:
    error = _("Product %s is out of stock!" % product.name)

    # bad: field values are automatically translated by the framework
    # This is useless and will not work the way you think:
    error = _("Product %s is not available!") % _(product.name)
    # and the following will of course not work as already explained:
    error = _("Product %s is not available!" % product.name)

    # Instead you can do the following and everything will be translated,
    # including the product name if its field definition has the
    # translate flag properly set:
    error = _("Product %s is not available!") % product.name


Also, keep in mind that translators will have to work with the literal values
that are passed to the underscore function, so please try to make them easy to
understand and keep spurious characters and formatting to a minimum. Translators
must be aware that formatting patterns such as %s or %d, newlines, etc. need
to be preserved, but it's important to use these in a sensible and obvious manner:

.. code-block:: python

    # Bad: makes the translations hard to work with
    error = "'" + question + _("' \nPlease enter an integer value ")

    # Better (pay attention to position of the brackets too!)
    error = _("Answer to question %s is not valid.\n" \
              "Please enter an integer value.") % question

In general in Flectra, when manipulating strings, prefer ``%`` over ``.format()``
(when only one variable to replace in a string), and prefer ``%(varname)`` instead
of position (when multiple variables have to be replaced). This makes the
translation easier for the community translators.


Symbols and Conventions
-----------------------

- Model name (using the dot notation, prefix by the module name) :
    - When defining an Flectra Model : use singular form of the name (*res.partner*
      and *sale.order* instead of *res.partnerS* and *saleS.orderS*)
    - When defining an Flectra Transient (wizard) : use ``<related_base_model>.<action>``
      where *related_base_model* is the base model (defined in *models/*) related
      to the transient, and *action* is the short name of what the transient do.
      For instance : ``account.invoice.make``, ``project.task.delegate.batch``, ...
    - When defining *report* model (SQL views e.i.) : use
      ``<related_base_model>.report.<action>``, based on the Transient convention.

- Flectra Python Class : use camelcase for code.


.. code-block:: python

    class AccountInvoice(models.Model):
        ...

- Variable name :
    - use camelcase for model variable
    - use underscore lowercase notation for common variable.
    - Flectra works with a record or a recordset, don't suffix variable names with
      *_id* or *_ids* if they don't contain an id or a list of ids.

.. code-block:: python

    ResPartner = self.env['res.partner']
    partners = ResPartner.browse(ids)
    partner_id = partners[0].id

- ``One2Many`` and ``Many2Many`` fields should always have *_ids* as suffix (example: sale_order_line_ids)
- ``Many2One`` fields should have *_id* as suffix (example : partner_id, user_id, ...)
- Method conventions
    - Compute Field : the compute method pattern is *_compute_<field_name>*
    - Search method : the search method pattern is *_search_<field_name>*
    - Default method : the default method pattern is *_default_<field_name>*
    - Onchange method : the onchange method pattern is *_onchange_<field_name>*
    - Constraint method : the constraint method pattern is *_check_<constraint_name>*
    - Action method : an object action method is prefix with *action_*. Its decorator is
      ``@api.multi``, but since it use only one record, add ``self.ensure_one()``
      at the beginning of the method.

- In a Model attribute order should be
    #. Private attributes (``_name``, ``_description``, ``_inherit``, ...)
    #. Default method and ``_default_get``
    #. Field declarations
    #. Compute and search methods in the same order as field declaration
    #. Constrains methods (``@api.constrains``) and onchange methods (``@api.onchange``)
    #. CRUD methods (ORM overrides)
    #. Action methods
    #. And finally, other business methods.

.. code-block:: python

    class Event(models.Model):
        # Private attributes
        _name = 'event.event'
        _description = 'Event'

        # Default methods
        def _default_name(self):
            ...

        # Fields declaration
        name = fields.Char(string='Name', default=_default_name)
        seats_reserved = fields.Integer(oldname='register_current', string='Reserved Seats',
            store=True, readonly=True, compute='_compute_seats')
        seats_available = fields.Integer(oldname='register_avail', string='Available Seats',
            store=True, readonly=True, compute='_compute_seats')
        price = fields.Integer(string='Price')

        # compute and search fields, in the same order of fields declaration
        @api.multi
        @api.depends('seats_max', 'registration_ids.state', 'registration_ids.nb_register')
        def _compute_seats(self):
            ...

        # Constraints and onchanges
        @api.constrains('seats_max', 'seats_available')
        def _check_seats_limit(self):
            ...

        @api.onchange('date_begin')
        def _onchange_date_begin(self):
            ...

        # CRUD methods (and name_get, name_search, ...) overrides
        def create(self, values):
            ...

        # Action methods
        @api.multi
        def action_validate(self):
            self.ensure_one()
            ...

        # Business methods
        def mail_user_confirm(self):
            ...


Javascript and CSS
==================
**For javascript :**

- ``use strict;`` is recommended for all javascript files
- Use a linter (jshint, ...)
- Never add minified Javascript Libraries
- Use camelcase for class declaration
- Unless your code is supposed to run on every page, target specific pages
  using the ``if_dom_contains`` function of website module. Target an
  element which is specific to the pages your code needs to run on
  using JQuery.

.. code-block:: javascript

    flectra.website.if_dom_contains('.jquery_class_selector', function () {
        /*your code here*/
    });


**For CSS :**

- Prefix all your classes with *o_<module_name>* where *module_name* is the
  technical name of the module ('sale', 'im_chat', ...) or the main route
  reserved by the module (for website module mainly, i.e. : 'o_forum' for
  *website_forum* module). The only exception for this rule is the
  webclient: it simply uses *o_* prefix.
- Avoid using id
- Use Bootstrap native classes
- Use underscore lowercase notation to name class

Git
===

Commit message
--------------

Prefix your commit with

- **[IMP]** for improvements
- **[FIX]** for bug fixes
- **[REF]** for refactoring
- **[ADD]** for adding new resources
- **[REM]** for removing of resources
- **[MOV]** for moving files (Do not change content of moved file, otherwise
  Git will loose track, and the history will be lost !), or simply moving code
  from a file to another one.
- **[MERGE]** for merge commits (only for forward/back-port)
- **[CLA]** for signing the Flectra Individual Contributor License

Then, in the message itself, specify the part of the code impacted by
your changes (module name, lib, transversal object, ...) and a description
of the changes.

- Always include a meaningful commit message: it should be self explanatory
  (long enough) including the name of the module that has been changed and the
  reason behind the change. Do not use single words like "bugfix" or
  "improvements".
- Avoid commits which simultaneously impact multiple modules. Try to
  split into different commits where impacted modules are different
  (It will be helpful if we need to revert a module separately).

.. code-block:: text

    [FIX] website, website_mail: remove unused alert div, fixes look of input-group-btn

    Bootstrap's CSS depends on the input-group-btn
    element being the first/last child of its parent.
    This was not the case because of the invisible
    and useless alert.

    [IMP] fields: reduce memory footprint of list/set field attributes

    [REF] web: add module system to the web client

    This commit introduces a new module system for the javascript code.
    Instead of using global ...


.. note:: Use the long description to explain the *why* not the
          *what*, the *what* can be seen in the diff