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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fac41,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,4b06f8f15f01a568 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: doylep@ecf.toronto.edu (Patrick Doyle) Subject: Re: Software landmines (loops) Date: 1998/08/31 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 386519192 X-Nntp-Posting-Host: skule.ecf Sender: news@ecf.toronto.edu (News Administrator) References: <6sbuod$fra$1@hirame.wwa.com> <35f51e53.48044143@news.erols.c Organization: University of Toronto, Engineering Computing Facility Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada Date: 1998-08-31T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article , Matthew Heaney wrote: > >I can almost live that. The real problem, however, is that using an >extra flag to terminate VASTLY complicates the predicate. In fact, the >flag doubles the number of states I have to think about when mentally >evaluating the predicate! That's the real source of the loop >termination errors. Doubles the number of states, compared to what? The *only* difference is that the exit-in-the-middle code has one of the exit conditions hidden inside the loop, instead of being stated explicitly at the top or bottom. Exit-in-the-middle is not inherently simpler, as you seem to suggest, or else it would be a different algorithm. -PD -- -- Patrick Doyle doylep@ecf.toronto.edu