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: 109fba,d95b511473b3a931 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,d95b511473b3a931 X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,d95b511473b3a931 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: dewar@cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar) Subject: Re: Language Choice and Coding style Date: 1996/07/03 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 163596804 references: <4r3bp1$cea@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> <836339497.14712.2@assen.demon.co.uk> <4rcl9r$dss@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> <4rcs95$ojg@blackice.winternet.com> organization: Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++ Date: 1996-07-03T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Jeff said "Your CM system's difference utility will. Quite often the fastest way to find where a newly introduced bug is hiding is to run some sort of diff across the revision that introduced it. I'd hesitate to lose that ability in exchange for the minimal benefit of allowing programmers to waste their time futzing around with braces." (talking about the use of formatting editors to allow programmers to follow their own tastes in formatting). Yes, indeed. And why in any case do we consider the use of formatting editors -- just to allow programmers to follow their own idiosyncratic tastes in formatting? But (a) this is of no value, there is no point in indulging idiosyncrasy unless there is some definite technical advantage in doing so, and none can be claimed for simple formatting issues. More importantly, (b) if programmers can't even agree to use a common standard for trivial formatting issues, you have on your hands the kind of personality that just does not like conformity and consistency. We have certainly seen that personality displayed by a few people here. If you have someone like that, then, much more seriously than not indenting right, they are likely to fight against conformity to much more important requirements for consistent standards at the design level. People who insist on coding in their own style should stick to one person projects in my opinion. Consistency and conformity at *all* levels of a program, ranging from the simplest formatting issues to fundamental design structure, is an absolute requirement in multi-person projects.