Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcso!hpfelg!jk
From: jk@hpfelg.HP.COM (John Kessenich)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: why bother with operator precedence
Message-ID: <690012@hpfelg.HP.COM>
Date: 28 Mar 90 17:52:35 GMT
References: <12845@csli.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: HP Elec. Design Div. -FtCollins
Lines: 14

>Insisting that students use minimal parenthesization will help them
>to learn the precedence rules, but why bother?

Completely paranthesizing a complex expression makes it unreadable,
but partial paranthesization mixed with vague knowledge of precedence 
leads to errors (if you're not going to put all paranthesis on, and 
you're not sure of the rules, the ones you leave out are potentially 
incorrect guesses).

Best choice: have detailed knowledge of precedence but paranthesize 
for correctness and readability instead of minimality.

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John Kessenich