Checklist for Code Reviews
Checklist for Code Reviews
There is only one purpose in the whole of life - Education.
~Swami Vivekananda
Structure
- Does the code completely and correctly implement the detailed design?
- Does the code conform to any pertinent coding standards?
- Is the code well-structured, consistent in style, and consistently indented?
- Are there any uncalled or unneeded procedures or any unreachable code?
- Are there any leftover stubs or test routines in the code?
- Can any code be replaced by calls to external reusable components or library functions?
- Are there any blocks of repeated code that could be condensed into a single procedure?
- Is storage use efficient?
- Are symbolics used rather than “magic number” constants or string constants?
- Are any modules excessively complex, so should be restructured or split into multiple routines?
Documentation
- Is the code clearly and adequately documented with an easy-to-maintain commenting style?
- Are there any inconsistencies between code and comments?
Variables
- Are all variables properly defined and given meaningful, consistent, and clear names?
- Do all assigned variables have proper type consistency or casting?
- Are there any redundant or unused variables?
Arithmetic Operations
- Does the code avoid comparing floating-point numbers for equality?
- Does the code systematically prevent rounding errors?
- Does the code avoid additions and subtractions on numbers with greatly different magnitudes?
- Will all mixed-mode arithmetic operations give the correct results? Are type conversions needed?
Loops and Branches
- Are all loops, branches, and logic constructs complete, correct, and properly nested?
- Are the most common cases tested first in IF- -ELSEIF chains?
- Are all cases covered in an IF- -ELSEIF or CASE block, including ELSE or DEFAULT clauses?
- In C, does the end of each case in a CASE statement have a break?
- Does every switch statement have a default?
- Are loop termination conditions obvious and invariably achievable?
- Are indexes or subscripts properly initialized, just prior to the loop?
- Can any statements that are enclosed within loops be placed outside the loops?
- Does the code in the loop avoid manipulating the index variable or using it upon exit from the loop?
Defensive Programming
- Are indexes, pointers, and subscripts tested against array, record, or file bounds?
- Are imported data and input arguments tested for validity and completeness?
- Are divisors tested for zero or noise?
- Are all output variables assigned?
- Are the correct data operated on in each statement?
- Is every memory allocation deallocated?
- Are timeouts or error traps used for external device accesses?
- Are files checked for existence before attempting to access them?
- Are all files and devices are left in the correct state upon program termination?
Copyright © 1999 by Karl E. Wiegers. Permission is granted to use, modify, and distribute this document.