Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!jarthur!nntp-server.caltech.edu!manning
From: manning@nntp-server.caltech.edu (Evan Marshall Manning)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: a style question
Message-ID: <1990Oct4.152246.438@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Date: 4 Oct 90 15:22:46 GMT
References: <7341@darkstar.ucsc.edu> <8660@ncar.ucar.edu> <1990Sep30.220839.20183@nntp-server.caltech.edu> <1990Oct1.174625.22061@zoo.toronto.edu> <2538@cirrusl.UUCP>
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
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henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:

>>In what way is "ix" superior to "i"? 

dhesi%cirrusl@oliveb.ATC.olivetti.com (Rahul Dhesi) writes:

>Not only is "ix" not superior to "i", but it is in fact much
>inferior.  Anybody with a mathematical (or FORTAN ;-) background, upon
>seeing "i", will immediately and subconsciously react, "Ah!  We're
>acting on the i-th element in a series!".  But when I see "ix", I say
>to myself, "ix??  What's ix??".

And this is where the combination of a background in FORTRA[N|SH] and
variables named "i" will bite you.  In C it's the (i+1)th element in
the series.  Perhaps semi-reformed FORTRAN programmers need to avoid
"i" more than anyone else. :-)

***************************************************************************
Your eyes are weary from staring at the CRT for so | Evan M. Manning
long.  You feel sleepy.  Notice how restful it is  |      is
to watch the cursor blink.  Close your eyes.  The  |manning@gap.cco.caltech.edu
opinions stated above are yours.  You cannot       | manning@mars.jpl.nasa.gov
imagine why you ever felt otherwise.               | gleeper@tybalt.caltech.edu