Formatting C++ code in Visual Studio

C++ code is usually formatted as follows:

if (condition)
{

}
else {

}

I like the curly braces to be on the same line so that I can see more code in less lines:

if (condition) {

} else {

}

To define this format in Visual Studio 2022, go to Tools - Options - Text Editor - C/C++ - Code Style - Formatting - New Lines and uncheck the boxes at the bottom:

After this change, you can update the format of an existing file with Edit - Advanced - Format Document.

If you also want the code snippet for if to behave similarly, go to Tools - Code Snippet Manager - Visual C++, copy the location of the if snippet file, open the file in a text editor with admin privileges and edit and save it:

Initial values in Java and C++

In Java a variable of type int or double has the initial value of zero. But in C++, they can get random values, as you can see in the example below. Note that in C++, the easiest way to set all fields to zero is to use memset.

#include <iostream>
typedef struct {
    int n;
    double values[12];
} DATA;

int main() {
    DATA data;
    std::cout << data.n << ", " << data.values[3] << std::endl;
    memset(&data, 0, sizeof(data)); //set all fields to zero
    std::cout << data.n << ", " << data.values[3] << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Press enter..." << std::endl;
    std::cin.get();
}

Recursive and iterative nested for loops

Consider n nested for loops in Python:

for i_1 in range(n):
    for i_2 in range(n):
        for i_3 in range(n):
            ...
                for i_n in range(n):
                    doSomething()

The recursive way would be:

def nForLoops(n, depth = 0):
    if depth > n-1: doSomething()
    else:
        for i in range(n):
            nForLoops(n, depth + 1)

A simple iterative function could be written using the observation that doSomething() is called n^n times:

def nForLoops2(n, counter = 0):
    while counter < pow(n, n):
        counter += 1
        doSomething()

TODO: How could we write it iteratively using stack data structure?

Reducing maintenance effort

You should strive to design simulations that require minimal maintenance. The ideal is to create a simulation whose only maintenance work is proving that it is working correctly when there is a problem in the system of which your simulation is part of. A good way of reducing the proof effort is to have unit tests with good coverage and a developer handbook containing frequently asked questions and troubleshooting sections. Of course, you cannot reach this goal at the beginning, you will get closer to it with every iteration.