Subj : Re: Syntax, style, the infinite monkey theorum and coding
To   : comp.programming
From : gswork
Date : Mon Aug 22 2005 02:30 am


Ed Prochak wrote:
> gsw...@mailcity.com wrote:

> > Code snippets with that 'monkeys' feel are kind of like modern art -
> > you're aware that it's supposed to mean something and that it may well
> > be very clever, but you can't help feeling that a 3 year old, or indeed
> > a money, would happily and readily, but unintentially, hammer out the
> > exact same!
>
> how about a C program with a seven page while() loop where the
> condition on the while() loop was seven full lines long (where full
> means about 70characters per line, not counting whitespace)? Sorry I
> don't have the code available. That was at a job nearly twenty years
> ago. It was written by a contractor that the company respected and was
> considered a great programmer. Needless to say I did not share that
> opinion when I was assigned to maintain and debug this beast.

I like the idea that a condition can be seven lines long!  Now that's a
condition!

I have seen well used switch statements that spread over several pages,
but a while loop like you describe is indeed a maintenance headache!

.