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Each rule consists of a title, a description, and noncompliant code examples and compliant solutions. The title is a concise, but sometimes imprecise, description of the rule. The description specifies the normative requirements of the rule. The noncompliant code examples are examples of code that would constitute a violation of the rule. The accompanying compliant solutions demonstrate equivalent code that does not violate the rule or any other rules in this coding standard.
A well-documented and enforceable coding standard is an essential element of coding in the C programming language. Coding standards encourage programmers to follow a uniform set of rules determined by the requirements of the project and organization rather than by the programmer’s familiarity. Once established, these standards can be used as a metric to evaluate source code (using manual or automated processes).
CERT’s coding standards are being widely adopted by industry. Cisco Systems, Inc. announced its adoption of the CERT C Secure Coding Standard as a baseline programming standard in its product development in October 2011 at Cisco’s annual SecCon conference. Recently, Oracle has integrated all of CERT’s secure coding standards into its existing secure coding standards. This adoption is the most recent step of a long collaboration: CERT and Oracle previously worked together in authoring The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java (Addison-Wesley, 2011).
The Secure Coding eNewsletter contains news from the CERT Secure Coding Initiative as well as summaries of recent updates to the standard rules. If you are interested in receiving updates directly, subscribe to the eNewsletter through our website or send a request to info@seiinfo@sei.cmu.edu.
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