Subj : Re: Is well written code a rare species ?
To   : comp.programming
From : akarl
Date : Mon Aug 15 2005 08:53 pm

Joe Butler wrote:
> At the end of the day, the different styles add some variety - I wouldn't
> constrain my programmers to such rigid rules.  I can easily identify the
> author of a function or bug fix just by looking at the subtle differences
> that each coder leaves behind (a sort of genetic fingerprint in ascii).  I
> find that useful because it's then possible to go straight to the coder in
> question if there are issues.  I can live with most of them except
> 'compressed' coding is fatiguing to deal with and 'exploded' coding styles
> are just annoying because I can't understand the reasoning behind the style
> and I guess I find it a little less scannable than other code.
> 
> // compressed (no spaces) yet, inexplicably, the braces
> // are each placed on a line of their own - totally weird to me.
> for(x=0,y=0;x<n;x++,y++)
> {
> 
> }
> 
> // exploded code
> for ( x = 0 , y = 0 ; x < n ; ++ x , ++ y ) {
> 
> }
> 
> // my own 'style'
> for(x= 0, y= 0; x < n; x++, y++){
> 
> }
> 
> // not me cos of the pre-increment
> // I know, it's more efficent (sometimes)
> for (x= 0, y= 0; x < n; ++x, ++y)
> {
> 
> }

If we're talking C, GNU Indent makes everyone happy.

August

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