Alistair Mills (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)

1.Use a modern editor such as TextPad or Visual Studio
2.Eliminate explicit conversions such as INT and FLOAT
3.Write in free format
4.Eliminate explicit type functions such as CLOG and AMAX1
5.Always use END PROGRAM/ SUBROUTINE/ FUNCTION
6.Use user defined generic procedures whenever possible
7.Use more than one compiler to verify a program
8.Add include 'use.h' to the header for every routine
9.Remove explicit file system locations in include statements
10.Write code in lower case letters
11.Write include files in fixed format with directives
12.Eliminate labels in the source code (use DO/ END DO)
13.Eliminate constants in the middle of source code
14.Collect the format statements into one location at the bottom of the code
15.Avoid putting labels on anything other than FORMAT (or CONTINUE)
16.Write a heading onto each routine showing its arguments clearly
17.Use array syntax whenever possible
18.Avoid GOTO - it is a four letter word
19.Reduce complexity count whenever possible
20.Indent the code to show the hierarchy
21.Write a module for all routines in the program as a list of INCLUDE statements
22.Use the module when compiling client applications, to get signature checking