Coding styles comparison in the Open Source Software world

"While looking for existing C coding standards I discovered that the GNU and Linux projects officially suggest very different styles. Inside the Linux kernel documentation, Linus Torvalds goes so far as to mock GNU coding standards:

"First off, I'd suggest printing out a copy of the GNU coding standards, and NOT read it. Burn them, it's a great symbolic gesture.

"At this point I wanted to understand the difference between the coding styles of established open source projects. When I say "styles" I mean mainly the source code appearance, and the standards that help to read and maintain the code. Here's a list of coding styles that I read:

* Linux kernel coding style
* GNU Coding Standards
* Qt Coding Style
* Code Conventions for the Java TM Programming Language
* Style Guide for Python Code
* GNOME Programming Guidelines
* Kdelibs Coding Style
* Mono Coding Guidelines
* Christian Neukirchen's Ruby Style Guide
* The Unofficial Ruby Usage Guide

"Many stylistic aspects can't be compared directly because they are different languages, but it was interesting to map some of them..."

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