I don't know who you are Frank..
But I understand and support you entirely..
I could write my own 1500 word post like you..
But you've covered it all
I always see the { } pair used when there is only one statement, and also
this weird
if(expression)
{
statement
}
else
{
statement 2
}
blocks are VERY weird and hard to understand.
I prefer and use for every lang. Including C++, Object Pascal, java, PHP,
Perl:
if(expression) {
statement block
if(expression2) {
statementblock 2
}
} else {
statement if
}
in a text editor these blocks are easily read and the double spacing (not
tabs) I use makes it REALLY easy to find and track code during debugging..
sometimes I see loops in conditional statements mixed with functions and
this neverending mass of curly braces and I am very confused trying to fix
their code..
SO I try as hard as possible so suggest my method as it makes reading much
easier..
I do understand where you are coming from with your starting { being in
line
with the actual expression it refers to... Hmm yes but as I always indent
for loops, conditional expressions, etc.. anything that needs curly braces
I
will easily see that if the code doesn't return back to the first column
something is wrong
Eg..
if(exp1) {
if(exp2) {
..do that..
} else {
while(x<y) {
..do this..
}
}
}
and I can clearly see the last brace finishes again on col 1.. SO i know
all
is good..
Hard in email to show as the character spacing is not equal like good text
editors..
but paste it in your editor you'll see what I mean..
Thanks for your support.. Should have more people following these readable
standards in the world!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
: Julien Bonastre [The-Spectrum.org CEO]
: A.K.A. The_RadiX
: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
: ABN: 64 235 749 494
: QUT Student :: 04475739
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Frank" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 11:51 AM
> Subject: [PHP] Better standards in PHP-coding
>
>
>
> "The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose
> between".
>
> Subject: Uses of block markers in coding
>
> GNU recommends a standard with block-markers aligned under each other and
> a
> number of people - including myself - find it senseless and
> counter-progressive to keep up an older standard resting from old days and
> doing the programmer a disfavor.
>
> Too many programmers continue to use a style that originates back to the
> days where dumb terminals with one-line memory and line-editors was
> common.
>
> Those days it could take long time to submit a line to the mainframe. I
> have tried it myself and in worst-case situations it could take up to half
> a minute to submit a line.
>
> So naturally we put more things into one line. Statements like
>
> if (tempratureM1>=tempratureSTP) {cout << "Warning! Cooling needed";
> log(tempratureM1, "Warning);};
>
> all in one line.
>
> When editors became a little faster people started to write:
>
> if (tempratureM1>=tempratureSTP) {
> cout << "Warning! Cooling needed"; log(tempratureM1, "Warning); }
>
> which is nicer to look at but would take many seconds more as one more
> line
> has to be submitted.
>
> - - -
>
> Nowadays few people have any problems with waiting for a CR.
>
> But for mysterious reasons a rest from the old forced "standard" remains
> among people who use C(++) like languages.
>
> It is still standard to write
>
> if (some_expression) {
> statements;
> ...
> }
>
> What the "{" - the marking of the beginning of a block that should be
> indented - is doing in the end of the line nobody has yet been able to
> explain me.
>
> Why, then, are functions not written as
>
> function foo(parameter1, foo(parameter1, parameter2, ... parameterN) {
> statements
> ...
> }
>
> ?
>
> In other block-structured languages you of course align block-markers
> under
> each other, allowing for easy scan.
>
> if expression
> begin
> statement;
> ...
> ...
> end;
>
> I have yet to see anybody write
>
> if expression begin
> statement;
> ...
> ...
> end;
>
> - - -
>
> Does it matter? Oh, yes it does. A lot. As teacher I know from experience
> that programmers has a harder time tracking their own block with a number
> of "{"s dancing far out of sight in the right side of the screen. This is
> not a matter of experience. No experience can ever make it equally fast to
> control structures based on vertically aligned block-markers contra those
> where the marker can be found anywhere on a line.
>
> As an amusing result of the weird practice it has been necessary to
> recommend a standard where the { }-pair is always used, even though there
> is only one statement following an if:
>
> if ($myvarirable1*myvariable2 >= myvariable3*myvariable4+114) {
> oneStatement;
> }
>
> instead of simply
>
> if ($myvarirable1*myvariable2 >= myvariable3*myvariable4+114)
> oneStatement;
>
>
> Why the need for the extra "{ }"s?
>
> Of course because the the difference between
>
> if ($myvarirable1*myvariable2 >= myvariable3*myvariable4+114)
> oneStatement;
>
> (correct) and
>
> if ($myvarirable1*myvariable2 >= myvariable3*myvariable4+114) {
> oneStatement;
>
> (wrong) is easily overlooked because of the block marker put away to the
> right!
>
>
> But nobody overlooks the difference betweeen
>
> if ($myvarirable1*myvariable2 >= myvariable3*myvariable4+114)
> oneStatement;
>
> and
>
> if ($myvarirable1*myvariable2 >= myvariable3*myvariable4+114)
> {
> oneStatement;
>
>
> where the missing "}" shines in the eyes.
>
> - - -
>
> We can only hope that some major standard-setters for PHP should make a
> rational decision about what standard to choose and not just keep "what we
> are used to" for the disadvantage of future generations of programmers.
>
> http://www.gnu.org/prep/standards.htm
> http://cs.nmhu.edu/personal/curtis/cs1htmlfiles/essentialssec6.htm
>
>
> Best regards
>
> SFM
> U5com Co Ltd.
>
>
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>
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