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From: richard@iesd.auc.dk (Richard Flamsholt S0rensen)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Counting semicolons (was: Re: WANTED: "C" code line counter program)
Message-ID: <RICHARD.91Mar12184440@dompap.iesd.auc.dk>
Date: 12 Mar 91 18:44:39 GMT
References: <1991Mar6.214157.18633@ntpal.uucp> <9082@suns6.crosfield.co.uk>
Sender: news@iesd.auc.dk
Followup-To: comp.software-eng
Organization: Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Aalborg
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In-reply-to: raj@crosfield.co.uk's message of 11 Mar 91 09:06:47 GMT


>>>>> On 11 Mar 91 09:06:47 GMT, raj@crosfield.co.uk (Ray Jones) said:
Ray> In article <1991Mar6.214157.18633@ntpal.uucp> dcavasso@ntpal.uucp (Dana Cavasso) writes:
>
>     I need a "C" code line counter program, preferably written in
>"C".  It will be used on several platforms, so solutions involving
>shell scripts and other UNIX utilities won't work.  I'm not very 
>picky (although I'd like something that did a little more than count 
>newlines :-) 

Ray> So how about one that counts semi-colons :-)

  Doesn't sound that silly after all. The only thing (somebody correct
me if I'm wrong) that "terminates" statements, are semicolons and
right braces. (Surely I know, that right braces doesn't terminate a
statement in the sense, that you can write x = 1} y = 3; . What I mean
is, that when you encounter a }, you can be at the end of a compound
statement, the only statement that's *not* terminated by a semicolon.)

 The problem is, that
	if (x == 7) {
	  y = 1;
	}
  - would count as two statements, thought that's actually quite correct;
a compound statement is a statement in itself and need not include any
statements at all inside it; here, it does include one so all in all
we have two statements.

  In a line counting program, however, you probably wouldn't want the
{}'s themselfes to count as a statement, would you? Furthermore, if we
count }'s as statements this also makes function definitions, structs,
unions, enums and initializers - who all ends with a } - look like
statements.

  Therefore, I think the idea of dismissing the compound statements
and only counting semicolons is allright (as long as you stay out of
comments, character constants and strings, of course ...) - and if I'm
wrong, somebody'll probably tell me so  ;-)

  Richard


--
/Richard Flamsholt
richard@iesd.auc.dk