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From: stevesu@copper.UUCP (Steve Summit)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: questions from using lint
Message-ID: <342@copper.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-May-86 02:58:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: copper.342
Posted: Thu May  8 02:58:08 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 11-May-86 05:32:57 EDT
References: <501@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR
Lines: 41

In article <501@brl-smoke.ARPA>, rbj@icst-cmr (Root Boy Jim) writes:
> 	Most People			Your's Truly
> 
> 	if (c) {			if (c)
> 		w = y;				w = x,
> 		y = z;				y = z;
> 	}				/* look ma, no brace */

There is an excellent, excellent book, which everybody should
read, called The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E. B.
White.  It is about writing in English, but almost everything in
it applies to writing in programming languages as well.  One of
my favorite quotes (from page 74 of the third edition) is

	"In ordinary composition, use orthodox spelling.  Do not
	write "nite" for "night," "thru" for "through," "pleez"
	for "please," unless you plan to introduce a complete
	system of simplified spelling and are prepared to take
	the consequences."

The consequences, of course, are that in virtually all cases you
will be laughed out of the room.  Convention has a place.  You
are not being a sheep or a lemming if you do things the way most
people do things; you are being responsible.  C can be hard
enough to read when it is formatted "correctly;" we certainly
don't need any more unorthodox methodologies floating around.

Proponents of things like "look ma, no braces" will claim that
theirs is not "ordinary composition," and that they are therefore
exempt from generally accepted programming practices.  This
statement is in fact perfectly true.  If you want to be a rugged
individualist and program in a vacuum; if nobody else ever reads
your code; if only you have to maintain it or port it to other
machines; then you are certainly welcome to make each program you
write an odds on favorite for the winner's circle in the
Obfuscated C Contest.  However, do the rest of us a favor and
perfect your isolated environment by sparing this newsgroup from
your rantings and ravings.

                                         Steve Summit
                                         tektronix!copper!stevesu