From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00, REPLYTO_WITHOUT_TO_CC autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 10ad19,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid10ad19,public X-Google-Thread: 107a89,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid107a89,public X-Google-Thread: 11440e,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid11440e,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 101deb,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid101deb,public X-Google-Thread: 1073c2,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid1073c2,public X-Google-Thread: 10a146,23963231b5359f74 X-Google-Attributes: gid10a146,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2001-05-27 12:02:03 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!newsfeed.google.com!sn-xit-03!supernews.com!mtu.ru!sunqbc.risq.qc.ca!newsfeed.cwix.com!newscon01.news.prodigy.com!newsmst01.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!postmaster.news.prodigy.com!not-for-mail From: Gary Scott Newsgroups: comp.lang.ruby,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.awk,comp.lang.clarion,comp.lang.java.programmer,comp.lang.pl1,comp.lang.vrml Subject: Re: Long names are doom ? Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 14:02:17 -0500 Organization: Home Message-ID: <3B114F39.540DF7C1@flash.net> References: <3B0DBD4A.82943473@my-deja.net> <3B0DD011.88FCD00E@acm.org> <83WP6.3874$yc6.728572@news.xtra.co.nz> <3B1130B0.418BECBA@webnexus.com> Reply-To: scottg@flash.net NNTP-Posting-Host: 64-48-223-29-ftw-01.cvx.algx.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: newssvr05-en0.news.prodigy.com 990989823 6242077 64.48.223.29 (27 May 2001 18:57:03 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@prodigy.net NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 18:57:03 +0000 (UTC) X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.73 [en]C-DIAL (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ruby:10010 comp.lang.ada:7816 comp.lang.awk:2619 comp.lang.clarion:20422 comp.lang.java.programmer:71148 comp.lang.pl1:670 comp.lang.vrml:3356 Date: 2001-05-27T14:02:17-05:00 List-Id: Hi, It is possible to write highly mnemonic names with 6 characters. I agree it's too short, but consistency of design helps tremendously and a quick study of the documentation for the library itself coupled with a general knowledge of the subject matter makes it reasonably evident: GSLT = graphics subroutine line type GSQLT = graphics subroutine query line type GSLW = graphics subroutine line width GSQLW = graphics subroutine query line width I have probably 500-1000 routines of this type virtually memorized (between GDDM and GINO) with many of the parameter types and value ranges memorized as well. Once you've been programming this way for 20 years, it isn't difficult at all to read the code. Obviously not easy for a novice or someone unfamiliar with the libraries to do so. There are few if any users of Fortran that ever thought 6 characters was enough and nearly all compilers allowed more. Some compilers had the abhorent habit of ignoring characters beyond 6, however. 31 is a reasonable minimum in my opinion, but it was put into effect about a decade ago. If someone wants to change it, formally approach the standard committee with a proposal. Shankar Unni wrote: > > AG wrote: > > > I once saw some code which used (in the same namespace) identifiers > > PassThruID and PassThroughIDs. They were apparently introduced > > by separate programmers over time and worked fine until someone > > confused them. Took ages to sort it out. So, while those two aren't > > even at 31 char limit, one could argue that 6 char limit would have > > precluded that sort of error :) > > Really? Would it have been somehow been a lot clearer, and harder to > confuse the two, if they had been, say, "PTID" and "PTIDS"? I'd think > the opposite, actually.. > > You're right in that infinitely long names don't help beyond a certain > point, but 6 chars is ridiculous. Forcing ultra-short names has the > effect of people using an acronym soup for variable names, and "ABCXQZ" > is pretty easy to confuse with "ABCQXZ". > > Here's an *actual* example of code I saw posted in another newsgroup > (names erased to protect the guilty - or in this case, the innocent!). > And these are 12-char names - think how much more readable this would > have been with 6-char names: > > > double sicjpcisj=*scratchptr; > > double sicjncisj=*(scratchptr+1); > > double cicjpsisj=*(scratchptr+2); > > double cicjnsisj=*(scratchptr+3); > > double qcksicjpcisj,qcksicjncisj; > > double qsksicjpcisj,qsksicjncisj; > > double qckcicjpsisj,qckcicjnsisj; > > double qskcicjpsisj,qskcicjnsisj; > > -- > Shankar. -- Gary Scott mailto:scottg@flash.net mailto:webmaster@fortranlib.com http://www.fortranlib.com Support the GNU Fortran G95 Project: http://g95.sourceforge.net