I'm not sure if its relevant, but in our project we found that using an automated tool to force all the code into a single format as it went under change control helped immensely when comparing versions. Often different contributors used different editors or conventions.
I was against the idea of "forcing" a coding convention on individuals, but this turned out to be a great compromise. Each person has their own conventions enforced by whatever tool they want, and then on checkin, it converts it into a common form (it turns out to be my personal form...because after all...I did set it up :-). Now when we do differences across versions, we don't get the preverbial "everything's changed". When we do merges, we actually have a chance of making the merge work. Mike On 27 Feb 2002 at 8:55, Dominik Vogt wrote: > If anybody has noticed: I've changed the way I indent my code to > using a basic indentation width of 8 spaces instead of 2. Nobody > needs to comply with that choice, but when I come across parts of the > code I might reindent it. The reasons for my change of mind can be > found in the Linux kernel coding style document (usually > /usr/src/linux/Documentation/CodingStyle): > > ----------------------------- snip ---------------------------- > Chapter 1: Indentation > > > Tabs are 8 characters, and thus indentations are also 8 characters. > There are heretic movements that try to make indentations 4 > (or even 2!) characters deep, and that is akin to trying to > define the value of PI to be 3. > > > Rationale: The whole idea behind indentation is to clearly define > where a block of control starts and ends. Especially when > you've been looking at your screen for 20 straight hours, > you'll find it a lot easier to see how the indentation works if > you have large indentations. > > Now, some people will claim that having 8-character indentations makes > the code move too far to the right, and makes it hard to read > on a 80-character terminal screen. The answer to that is > that if you need more than 3 levels of indentation, you're > screwed anyway, and should fix your program. > > > In short, 8-char indents make things easier to read, and have the > added benefit of warning you when you're nesting your > functions too deep. Heed that warning. > ----------------------------- snip > ---------------------------- > > (Note the parts about 'coding 20 straight hours' and 'if you need more > than 3 levels of indentation, you're screwed anyway'). > > In short, it makes reading the code easier and forces you more to > think about what you code. > > Bye > > Dominik ^_^ ^_^ > > -- > Dominik Vogt, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > LifeBits Aktiengesellschaft, Albrechtstr. 9, D-72072 Tuebingen > fon: ++49 (0) 7071/7965-0, fax: ++49 (0) 7071/7965-20 > -- > Visit the official FVWM web page at <URL:http://www.fvwm.org/>. > To unsubscribe from the list, send "unsubscribe fvwm-workers" in the > body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To report problems, send mail > to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] To obtain my PGP public key, mail "SEND PUB KEY" in the subject to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" -- Visit the official FVWM web page at <URL:http://www.fvwm.org/>. To unsubscribe from the list, send "unsubscribe fvwm-workers" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To report problems, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
