Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!saxony!dgil
From: dgil@pa.reuter.COM (Dave Gillett)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.apl
Subject: Re: Coding Standards
Message-ID: <392@saxony.pa.reuter.COM>
Date: 6 Sep 90 20:43:42 GMT
References: <8703@latcs1.oz.au>
Organization: Reuter:file Inc  (A Reuter Company) Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 20

Two things that I've tended to do, which I think have helped:

1.  Devote some lines at the start of the function to verifying the shape/
    size/type/number of the arguments, and taking appropriate action (which
    might be signalling an error, or supplying a default for a missing left
    argument).  Mnemonic labels (eg. 'monadic:' and 'dyadic:') don't hurt.

2.  Internal pieces of the package have a preceeding "Hungarian" (see
    "Programmers at Work") component to their names.  Typically something
    like 'ILF*Log' (where * represents delta); in this case, 'I' is the
    package (Ipsynch protocol), 'L' is the component (Logging of activity),
    and 'F' is the type (Function).  ILF*Log adds its right argument to the
    log entry in ILV*Log, and ILF*Write stores it as a file component and
    resets ILV*Log.  If (!) I want code outside the package to be able to
    store stuff in the package log, I'll add a function with an English
    name ('Log' perhaps) that passes stuff to ILF*Log.

What APL do you use?  Have you seen I.P. Sharp's "Logos" environment for
associating documentation and change journals with APL code?
                                         Dave