Tooling and Testing

Recommended compiler flags

GCC / Clang

-std=c++23 -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -Wconversion -O2

Debug builds

-g -O0 -fsanitize=address,undefined

Build tools

• CMake: de facto standard build system
• Ninja: fast backend often used with CMake
• compile_commands.json: useful for IDEs and linters

Formatting and linting

• clang-format
• clang-tidy
• Include-what-you-use

Testing patterns

• Arrange, act, assert
• Prefer deterministic tests
• Test public behavior, not private implementation details
• Add regression tests for every bug fix

Helpful libraries

• Catch2
• GoogleTest
• doctest

Best-practice reminders

• Turn warnings into errors in CI when practical.
• Keep debug and release configurations separate.
• Use sanitizers early; they catch real bugs fast.

Useful clang-tidy checks

• modernize-*
• performance-*
• bugprone-*
• readability-*

Start broad, then suppress intentionally noisy rules in project configuration.

CMake workflow essentials

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja
cmake --build build
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure

• Keep builds out of the source tree.
• Generate compile_commands.json for language tools.
• Let CI run formatting, static analysis, tests, and sanitizers separately.

Debugging checklist

• Reproduce with the smallest failing input.
• Turn on sanitizers before chasing complex theories.
• Inspect optimized-vs-debug differences only after you have a clear reproducer.