Re: [BLACKBOX] Re [BLACKBOX] Seasons Greetings from Linuxland

From: [at]} <Rex>
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:05:04 -0600

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At 05:05 AM 12/27/2010, Les May wrote:

>The code
>
>PROCEDURE IsDigit(ch: CHAR): BOOLEAN;
>BEGIN
> RETURN (ch <= '9') & (ch >= '0')
>END IsDigit;
>
>is regarded as good 'style'.
>
>Yet it suffers from the same problem as the C code above. To understand what the programmer intended the reader has to evaluate what follows the RETURN.


        I let this reply sit for a while, but I have to agree with what others have written.

        This looks like excellent style to me. I find it instantly comprehensible and unambiguous. Best of all, it's mercifully short. I use this kind of construction all the time.

        The fact that you have to evaluate a line of code to understand the intention is a tautology: that statement is true of ever line of code (and every sentence of natural language) ever written. Therefore I cannot construe it as a meaningful criticism.

Rex Couture

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Received on Tue Dec 28 2010 - 23:05:04 UTC