Re: Code Formatters

[dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar)]

Axel says

"Therefore I would like to work with a language where presentation is
normalised  (enforced by the editor) even if it's not as beautifull as
it may be."

Well that's a bit inconsistent, do you mean enforced by the language, as
implied by your first phrase, or enforced by the tools you are using (in
which case it has nothing to do with the language).

For a *language* that enforces style, COBOL comes closest probably, but
still leaves LOTS unsaid, and extensive coding standards are still needed.
I know of no *language* so tightly defined as to make auxiliary style
guidelines unnecessary.

Whatever language you are using, you need to work in an environment where
there are clear style rules that are consistently followed.

There are many ways of enforcing such rules (threat of firing people, social
pressure, job evaluation in genral, automatic editing tools, automatic
formatting tools, checks in the compiler etc.)

Of these, I prefer checks in the compiler (as we use in GNAT, with -gnatg)
but these are seldome more than very simple issues. I personally don't
like any editor that messes with me in any way (I hate templates or any
kind of on the fly fixup of what I type), but others really like editors
that help out (e.g. Ada mode in EMACS).