C Indentation Survey Results (long...)

[Craig Miller]

Henry says:
> Yes, I do.  What's amusing is that the original author hasn't noticed
> the ambiguity in the meaning of "consistency".  Especially since a
> (desirable) application of the other meaning directly contradicts
> his first point.  I didn't accuse him of being inconsistent, remember,
> just of producing an amusing juxtaposition.

	Apparently I didn't make it clear what I was trying to say when
	I was talking about 'consistency' and 'readability in a program'.

	What I was referring to was that I found it extremely hard to
	read programs where the programming style changed (indentation
	or otherwise) in the middle of the program.  I didn't say (or at
	least didn't mean to say) that readability had anything to do
	with whether or not the style matched anyone else's style.  Just
	as long as the same style is used throughout the program, the
	next person that comes along can probably figure it out.
	
	This also applies to modifying someone else's code, too.  If
	you're modifying someone else's code, you should use their style,
	just to keep it consistent within that program.  But this doesn't
	mean you have to use their style when you write your own programs...

	What I'm getting at is that most people can probably figure out
	the style used in a program when they first start reading it.
	Then they know what to expect for the rest of the program.

> I find it hard to imagine anything more unprofessional than making
> your code harder for other people to read, just because you happen
> to like it that way.

	Like I said before, my point was that it didn't matter as much
	what style you used, just that you kept to it.  At least then
	you give people an idea of what you're trying to do.
	
	But I don't believe that just because you use a different style
	than anyone else's, you're wrong.  And that's what started this,
	anyway.
-- 
Craig Miller
..!ihnp4!we53!busch!dcm
The Anheuser-Busch Companies; St. Louis, Mo.