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Date:      Sat, 20 Dec 1997 09:34:39 -0500 (EST)
From:      "John S. Dyson" <toor@dyson.iquest.net>
To:        nate@mt.sri.com (Nate Williams)
Cc:        dyson@FreeBSD.ORG, gurney_j@resnet.uoregon.edu, julian@whistle.com, bde@FreeBSD.ORG, current@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Bruce vandalism again
Message-ID:  <199712201434.JAA00329@dyson.iquest.net>
In-Reply-To: <199712201419.HAA24217@mt.sri.com> from Nate Williams at "Dec 20, 97 07:19:07 am"

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Nate Williams said:
> > John-Mark Gurney said:
> > > > I agree.  This appears to be a seriously retrograde step.  Bruce, why?
> > > 
> > > easy, don't you guys read style(9)?
> > >      Use of the __P macro in new code is discouraged, although modifications
> > >      to existing files should be consistent with that file's conventions.
> > > 
> > > all the other parts of the code in that file are K&R style... so you
> > > need to maintain that convention...
> > > 
> > If style(9) is broken, which apparently it is, then it should be fixed.
> > It isn't a religious document, but one that should change with the times.
> 
> I disagree.
>
What do you disagree with?  You echo the point made in the statement above,
modulo the claim that style(9) is broken.  IMO, nailing us down to a < 1980
standard is lame, and keeps us in the dark ages.  (I have written alot
of K&R C well before FreeBSD, and looking back, ANSI is infinitely better,
and we should encourage good ANSI style.)

>
>  I'm with Bruce here in that you shouldn't 'bit by bit'
> change code to use new ANSI prototypes *UNLESS* you change all of the
> code to use ANSI prototypes.  So, either convert them all to the new
> style (my preference), or leave them all the old style, but having a
> mix/match of both is silly.
> 
> And, if you want to change it all to the new style, make the 'style'
> changes commits separate from the functional changes commits so one can
> see the functionality changes easy w/out having to dig through the style
> changes.
> 

Sorry, but most of us are real-world programmers, who try to keep our
code ANSI.  (Then we have to switch into the mode: Oh yeah, we are still
using that OLD way on FreeBSD, isn't that quaint...)  Minor brace style
issues aren't important (those are really easy to fix.)  Not using ANSI is
disgraceful.

I think that we need to change style(9) ASAP.  I also don't think that we
should gratuitiously change existing code (including gratuitious conversions
one way or the other.)  New code can be made to adhere to the international
standard, and old code can get upgraded over a few months (maybe).

-- 
John                  | Never try to teach a pig to sing,
dyson@freebsd.org     | it just makes you look stupid,
jdyson@nc.com         | and it irritates the pig.



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