Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!watdragon!watsol!tbray
From: tbray@watsol.waterloo.edu (Tim Bray)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Indenting and alignment style
Message-ID: <10366@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 11 Dec 88 17:09:04 GMT
References: <17680@adm.BRL.MIL> <1748@solo3.cs.vu.nl> <9063@smoke.BRL.MIL> <9076@smoke.BRL.MIL> <4733@mtgzz.att.com> <1988Dec9.190711.4119@utzoo.uucp>
Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu
Reply-To: tbray@watsol.waterloo.edu (Tim Bray)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 21

In article <1988Dec9.190711.4119@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>>... Insisting that everyone
>>conform to what you happen to like and/or are used to isn't just
>>religion, it is neanderthal religion...
>
>No, it's called "having standards", actually.
Hear, hear.  It is totally impossible to get more than about 3 competent
Unix hacks unanimous about the ideal coding style.  The important thing
though, is that

1. most of the popular coding styles are actually pretty good.  
2. once your hindbrain has got used to a particular coding style, reading
   code in that style gets easier and easier, and it becomes clear that
   struggling with nonstandard code is a COMPLETE WASTE of intellectual 
   effort (maintaining software is difficult enough already).

So I think for any project, somebody in charge should get fascist and
enforce some (it doesn't really matter which) coding style with an iron
hand.  In fact, even arguing about coding style is an (entertaining)
waste of time.
Cheers, Tim Bray, New OED Project, U of Waterloo