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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!iuvax!apratt
From: apratt@iuvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Forced Commenting - (nf)
Message-ID: <1323@pur-ee.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 8-Jan-84 02:39:29 EST
Article-I.D.: pur-ee.1323
Posted: Sun Jan  8 02:39:29 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Jan-84 21:30:28 EST
Sender: notes@pur-ee.UUCP
Organization: Electrical Engineering Department , Purdue University
Lines: 22

#R:houxj:-31900:iuvax:11800009:000:977
iuvax!apratt    Jan  8 00:47:00 1984

One thing which has often stymied my attempts at commenting is the fact that
screens and printers are 80 columns wide (MX-80s, anyway).  With that
limitation, deeply nested structures have no room at the end of the line for
comments, and no good place to put one (the line above? the line below?).
Another limitation is 24-line screens. With most editors, this leaves (at most)
23 lines of the program visible at one time, and for that reason blank lines
need to be scarce (especially in complex structures where you want to see as
much as possible). On the other hand, complex structures are where blank lines
are MOST helpful on a printout, with plenty of blank-line-delimited comments.
	Which way do you go with it? Depends mostly on the availability of
printouts. If they're quick and cheap, use that right margin (and beyond)
for all it's worth. Otherwise, program for the screen.

	Has anybody else noticed this problem?

						-- Allan Pratt
					...ihnp4!iuvax!apratt