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Path: utzoo!watmath!ljdickey
From: ljdickey@watmath.UUCP (Lee Dickey)
Newsgroups: net.lang.apl
Subject: Readability of functions
Message-ID: <7420@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Mar-84 22:30:44 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.7420
Posted: Fri Mar 30 22:30:44 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Mar-84 08:24:38 EST
References: <647@bbncca.ARPA>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 22

>[I'd say readability depends on your programming style.  I've found if you ]
>[use *alot* of small, simple routines, with fairly mnemonic names, plus    ]
>[one or two strategically placed comments, programs remain readable.  Does ]
>[anyone have other comments on this?                                       ]

I agree!  Some people have complained about APL being difficult to read,
but they forget that a short 4 or 5 line program in APL can be equivalent
to a 50 to 100 line program in FORTRAN or some other middle level language.

I also notice that some APL beginners (like me for instance, when I started)
tend to write in a horizontal style, thinking that it is somehow more
efficient or something.  I disagree.  I tend to write more vertically now,
with maximum number of lines around 20 to 25, because that is what fits
on a screen.

One "rule" that has helped me with this goal is the one that says:
   Make at most one assignment to a line.

-- 
  Lee Dickey, University of Waterloo.  (ljdickey@watmath.UUCP)
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