Coding conventions

Syntax Use 2 spaces of indentation per indentation level in Nix expressions, 4 spaces in shell scripts. Do not use tab characters, i.e. configure your editor to use soft tabs. For instance, use (setq-default indent-tabs-mode nil) in Emacs. Everybody has different tab settings so it’s asking for trouble. Use lowerCamelCase for variable names, not UpperCamelCase. TODO: naming of attributes in all-packages.nix? Function calls with attribute set arguments are written as foo { arg = ...; } not foo { arg = ...; } Also fine is foo { arg = ...; } if it's a short call. In attribute sets or lists that span multiple lines, the attribute names or list elements should be aligned: # A long list. list = [ elem1 elem2 elem3 ]; # A long attribute set. attrs = { attr1 = short_expr; attr2 = if true then big_expr else big_expr; }; # Alternatively: attrs = { attr1 = short_expr; attr2 = if true then big_expr else big_expr; }; Short lists or attribute sets can be written on one line: # A short list. list = [ elem1 elem2 elem3 ]; # A short set. attrs = { x = 1280; y = 1024; }; Breaking in the middle of a function argument can give hard-to-read code, like someFunction { x = 1280; y = 1024; } otherArg yetAnotherArg (especially if the argument is very large, spanning multiple lines). Better: someFunction { x = 1280; y = 1024; } otherArg yetAnotherArg or let res = { x = 1280; y = 1024; }; in someFunction res otherArg yetAnotherArg The bodies of functions, asserts, and withs are not indented to prevent a lot of superfluous indentation levels, i.e. { arg1, arg2 }: assert system == "i686-linux"; stdenv.mkDerivation { ... not { arg1, arg2 }: assert system == "i686-linux"; stdenv.mkDerivation { ... Function formal arguments are written as: { arg1, arg2, arg3 }: but if they don't fit on one line they're written as: { arg1, arg2, arg3 , arg4, ... , # Some comment... argN }: