Messages in this thread |  | | From | "Scott Robert Ladd" <> | Subject | RE: any chance of 2.6.0-test*? | Date | Wed, 15 Jan 2003 10:07:23 -0500 |
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Kai Henningsen wrote: > Well ... he did have some nice ideas. Unfortunately, they usually don't > get palatable until someone else has worked on them.
I actually *liked* Modula-2... but I haven't used it since the very early 90s. I guess I didn't like it *that* much, huh? ;)
> If you look into Wirth's books and see that the example code in there ... > > * uses one(!) space indentation > * routinely puts several statements on one line
I've got a copy of the classic "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs"; in it, Wirth uses four-space indentation but a proportional font. The style isn't all that bad. Hell, I've got worse stuff in some of *my* books -- oops, shouldn't have typed that... ;)
One-space indents may very well be an artifact of idiot copy editors, and not the author.
> * typically uses one- or two-character variable names
There is one instance when one/two-character variable names make sense: mathematical code that directly implements numericla algorithms from the text. In such a case, short variable names correspond directly to standard notation; using longer names would actually obscure the correspondence between text and code. I also don't see the point of using "array_index" over a plain old traditional "i" in a loop.
Rarely is any coding "rule" absolute. The point is clarity; if a "goto" or one-character identifier make sense, use'em.
For those who growl -- I think this kind of discussion *has* value in the kernel mailing list. Kernel newbies and such can learn a great deal from rational, calm debates among experts; if they learn, their contributions to the kernel will be better.
Of course, note the "rational" and "calm" above, which does not apply to the Stallman debate... ;)
I enjoy the implementation debates; they give me a better idea of where the kernel is going, so I can figure out where to stick my oar in the waters.
-- Scott Robert Ladd Coyote Gulch Productions (http://www.coyotegulch.com) Professional programming for science and engineering; Interesting and unusual bits of very free code.
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