Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 13:53:54 +0200 (MET DST) From: grog@lemis.de (Greg Lehey) To: rnordier@iafrica.com (Robert Nordier) Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.org (FreeBSD Hackers) Subject: Re: Indentation styles Message-ID: <199605281153.NAA23645@allegro.lemis.de> In-Reply-To: <199605281137.NAA00234@eac.iafrica.com> from "Robert Nordier" at May 28, 96 01:37:53 pm
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Robert Nordier writes: > > Greg Lehey wrote: >> >> OK, I know source code indentation styles are a hot button, but I >> think I need to press it anyway. >> >> First, a question: is there a recommended FreeBSD indentation style? >> If not, I think there should be. >> >> Now, my problem: I frequently modify other people's code, which >> sometimes causes me problems in reading, simply because the >> indentation varies so much from the indentation that my tools and I >> use. Frequently, I just give up and run the whole source through >> indent(1). The resulting modifications work (usually), but it's >> difficult to pass them back to the original author as diffs. >> >> Therefore, my suggestion: if FreeBSD doesn't have a canonical >> indentation style, it should get one. The style should be >> reproducible with indent(1). (For those of you who don't know, >> indent(1) has a plethora of flags which can create just about any >> indentation style you like). That way, individuals can code in styles >> in which they feel comfortable, but when they submit code, it's in the >> canonical form. It would be an advantage, of course, to choose a >> canonical form which corresponds to the tastes of the majority. >> >> If there is already a recommended FreeBSD indentation style, can it be >> reliably produced with indent(1)? If not, what do people think about >> modifying it to a (closely similar) form which can be created with >> indent(1)? >> >> If there isn't a recommended FreeBSD indentation style, do you agree >> that there should be one? What should it be like? >> >> Finally, a restriction. Indent style can, in some cases, influence >> coding style: for example, if you choose an indent of 8 and indent >> braces 8 characters and the contents of a block another 8 spaces, >> you'll soon run out of margins. Even if you only indent a single 8 >> characters, you'll end up writing different code from people running >> smaller indents. Does this matter? >> >> Thoughts? Flames? > > Yuk! > > I think 'indent' should be hardwired to output to '/usr/tmp'. > > 'indent' is primarily useful as a tool to make sense out of other people's > code. So, if their style differs from yours, indent can be used to > produce a rough translation, which may be useful to promote understanding. > > But 'indent' needs to be used a logical tool, for personal use, not as > something to chop and stretch code into rigid conformance with any > One True Way of doing things. Somehow I think I'm not going to get a majority on my side on this question. > Some people take immense care in the formatting of their code, however > eccentric the layout may appear to those used to a different style. To > stomp all over this with 'indent' would be decidedly a Bad Thing. I don't see any good reason to indent other people's code unless you're going to do serious modifications. If you are, though, as you observe, indent can be a useful tool. In my particular case, I use emacs C mode, and it gets completely confused by hanging braces. I indent differently from the style standards (well, I suppose I could get emacs to change that, but that's only part of the story). I don't have any particular problem with other people going and munging my code after I've done it, I just have serious technical difficulties *producing* this style of code. > Unless you format your code with indent in mind, indent is pretty much > guaranteed to make a mess of it. (Well, of the finer points, anyway.) Well, I think indent has got cleverer. But yes, part of my suggestion is to format your code with indent in mind. > Any particular patch or modification is likely to comprise far less > code than the original source. In these circumstances, it is surely > better to match the style of the original. > > There is an awful lot of code out there, in various indentation styles. > To go in and re-indent the lot of it is going to create massive change, > problems, and uncertainty. (And probably will turn up a few bugs in > indent, which may be detected only when program behavior suddenly > changes.) > > If the required indentation style is applicable only to new code, the > legacy code is always going to be in the majority. So there will not > be the desired overall conformity. > > Indentation styles raise strong feelings. I was looking at some > stuff the other day in which the author specifically prohibits > reformatting the source as part of the conditions for free use and > distribution. (I think it was part of Minix.) Interesting. > I think Greg's concern in valid, but this is one of Nature's > Insoluble Problems. Let's have some sanity, please! Well, we could try. Since I'm really only talking about diffs, it shouldn't be insoluble. Greg
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199605281153.NAA23645>