On Fri, 30 Mar 2007, Brian Foster wrote:
> apologies if I'm coming across as a bit strident, but besides just
> returning from the pub ;-) the tendency to conflate the
> conformance of source code to some stone tablet with the code's
> functionality and quality is one of my "Hot Buttons".
I second you on style being a minor issue, agreement and consistency
(on and in whatever style) being the important matter. However, I
disagree with you that style has no bearing on quality.
Certain "styles" can impact /directly/ on functionality, e.g.
old-style type-less K&R function declarations may not be type-checked
by the compiler.
Readability is crucial for maintaining code: Little things like
putting function names at the beginning of the line aid greppability.
CamelCaseVariableNames are tedious to type and, compared to
saner_variable_names with words spaced in a more natural way, are
difficult to read.
In short, style /can/ have a functional impact on code, on
maintainability over time foremost.
regards,
--
Paul Jakma paul at clubi.iepaul at jakma.org Key ID: 64A2FF6A
Fortune:
You can't cross a large chasm in two small jumps.
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