Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!yale!wald-david
From: wald-david@CS.YALE.EDU (david wald)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Standard Indentation etc.
Message-ID: <45719@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 15 Dec 88 03:08:58 GMT
References: <663@htsa.uucp> <832@husc6.harvard.edu>
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: wald-david@CS.YALE.EDU (david wald)
Organization: Yale University Computer Science Dept, New Haven CT  06520-2158
Lines: 77

In article <832@husc6.harvard.edu> geoff@harvard.harvard.edu (Geoff Clemm) writes:
>To emphasize
>  1. {} ARE NOISE FOR THE COMPILER - humans can see in 2d, and indentation
>     blocks give you everything that you need.
...
>  3. Editing convenience is then the determining factor for how you place
>     your {}'s - put them in a way that minimizes numbers of keystrokes
>     and errors during creation and modification of code.
>
>>  while (1)         while (1){
>>    { first;                first;
>>      second();             second();
>>      etc;                  etc;
>>    }               }
>
>You have sacrificed editing convenience (i.e. being able to kill the line
>containing "first;" without messing with brackets) in order to get bracket
>column matching, which as Ritchie points out, is irrelevant.

I consider the editing convenience minimal on any of the editors I use.
That however is irrelevant to my style (see below).

>If the compiler could read white space, you would just write :
>
> while (1)
>    first;
>    second();
>    etc;
>
>As it is, you need to add brackets.  The only place for the open bracket
>is on the first line, and you have two choices for the closing bracket
>(other than Ritchie's choice) :
>
> while (1) {                   while (1) {
>    first;                        first;
>    second();                     second();
>    etc; }/*while*/;              etc;
>                                  }/*while*/;
>
>Note : the brackets DO NOT LINE UP, and it DOESN'T MATTER.  Brackets are
>for the compiler, and it doesn't care where they are.  Indentation
>blocks are for humans, and this bracket placement emphasizes the correct
>2d blocks.

Getting a bit imperious here, aren't we?  "The only place?"

As long as the compilers rely on the braces to determine blocks I will
stick with my style:

while(1)                                  while(1)
  {                                       {
    first;           or, if things          first;
    second();        are crowded,           second();
    etc;                                    etc;
  }                                       }

I understand the points about editing convenience and elimination of
errors.  This method has none of those problems.  However, with this
method I no longer run the risk of missing that first { when I change
from a block to a single statement or vice versa.  This method also
visually shows the matching braces, which I do consider helpful in
reading.  Yes, the indentation helps.  Indentation plus well-placed
braces helps more in complex structures.  The only objection I've heard
to this style is that there's "too much white space," and I simply don't
agree that that's a problem.

>Disclaimer : Like all sensible people, I agree that the important point
>is to use a common style - what that style happesn to be is secondary.

Of course.



============================================================================
David Wald                                              wald-david@yale.UUCP
						       waldave@yalevm.bitnet
============================================================================