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Re: Programming Style

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On 6/10/2013 9:31 PM, Elizabeth D. Rather wrote:
> (name) is a common naming convention for a word that exists principally
> as a factor of name. It's often useful to do this sort of factoring
> because the lower-level word can be tested independently, and you might
> want multiple high-level wrapper words.

Thank you, I'll try to remember that and use it.  I may do a rewrite of 
the code I am currently working with.  The file is over 1000 lines and I 
believe it can be greatly simplified, if nothing else, by just tossing 
out extraneous words that were branches of the thought tree that are due 
for pruning.  As I proceed I should reread some of my Forth books, if I 
can find them, paper books are hard for me to manage these days.  I'll 
use the above convention when it seems to make sense.

Is it common to include test code in with the definitions being tested? 
  Most of my work these days is in VHDL where I generate a separate test 
bench file to test each module of code which is in its own file.  Makes 
for a lot of files and a lot of projects in the simulator, a real mess 
in many ways.  The tools also can generate dozens of intermediate files 
if not hundreds for each project.  The waveform files can be many MBs 
too which tends to eat up my hard drive.  In some ways I much prefer 
coding in Forth, but I get paid a lot more for my VHDL work.  Or I 
should say, I get paid, period.  My Forth work is for myself at this 
point.  I think there is too much competition in the embedded market for 
the most part.  I would find it hard to get much traction I think.


> A couple of things to think about concerning your code here:
>
> * Remember that IF doesn't need a well-formed flag. So, you can use,
> say, the results of a subtraction directly, without need for a 0= (if
> the logic of the IF is the other way around).

Yes, I'm well aware of that.  I prefer to organize IF structures with 
the small clause on the top, so it is easy to skip over to read the ELSE 
clause.  But this is a habit of writing *big* code and I should be 
keeping my Forth code small to make it more easily testable.  I still 
find it hard to break things down so finely and still have the words 
seem like a useful function.


> * Often you can do away with flags altogether. Rather than have all your
> logic lead to passing out a flag that some other word needs to test and
> do 'this' or 'that', you can just do 'this' or 'that' in the word.

When the testing code detects errors, the next guy up the food chain 
needs to know so the rest of the testing can be skipped.  No point in 
continuing a test if it is already corrupted.  I'm thinking about a 
global variable for these errors.  It can be set from anywhere and 
everyone can check it so it doesn't need to be passed around.  I'm still 
trying to be a purest at Forth and not using variables for anything that 
doesn't require it which so far is almost nothing.  I think I save the 
handle of the telnet port and some info for the COM port.  Then there is 
a string buffer or two.  Not so much.

Otherwise the code is not complex.  It is just a long list of operations 
that have been broken down into bite size pieces in a modular manner. 
It was when I started dealing with the errors that it got messy.

One of the places that bit me without returning flags is a section of 
code that has to make four measurements and return all of the results. 
There is an input parameter which needs to go to each of the four 
measurements.  So I first dup it to the return stack for the first 
measurement call and copy it back for the second and third measurement 
call, then do the R> for the final one.  Trouble was when I added the 
code to detect an error in the measurement word and exit this word, I 
forgot the parameter on the return stack.  Maybe a local would have been 
better for that?  Do locals need to be released/decommissioned when 
exiting a word?


> * As others have suggested, use THROW as a way of handling your error.
> Again, just THROW when you know you need to, don't pass flags around
> telling someone else to THROW.

I have to meet with the fab house this week to get the test fixtures 
working.  I also need to find and fix the comms bug that is causing all 
the trouble (likely in the FPGA).  Then I will have more time to work on 
the software part of things and a chance to read up on throw and catch. 
  Just reading the ANS standard I don't even get what they do really.

Thanks,

-- 

Rick

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Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-09 14:33 -0400
  Re: Programming Style Paul Rubin <no.email@nospam.invalid> - 2013-06-09 11:42 -0700
    Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-09 15:22 -0400
  Re: Programming Style "WJ" <w_a_x_man@yahoo.com> - 2013-06-09 19:16 +0000
    Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-09 15:36 -0400
      Re: Programming Style Roberto Waltman <usenet@rwaltman.com> - 2013-06-09 22:17 -0400
    Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-22 09:53 -0400
  Re: Programming Style humptydumpty <ouatubi@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 00:31 -0700
    Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 11:08 -0400
      Re: Programming Style humptydumpty <ouatubi@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 11:09 -0700
        Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 18:56 -0400
          Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-10 15:31 -1000
            Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-11 23:10 -0400
  Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-10 08:32 +0000
    Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-10 11:12 -0400
      Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-10 17:22 +0000
      Re: Programming Style Mark Wills <markrobertwills@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-06-11 01:01 -0700
        Re: Programming Style Gerry Jackson <gerry@jackson9000.fsnet.co.uk> - 2013-06-11 15:51 +0100
          Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-12 11:14 -0400
            Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-14 13:03 -1000
              Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-14 19:22 -0400
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-14 16:54 -1000
                Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-15 12:14 -0400
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-15 11:57 -1000
                Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-17 16:12 +0000
                Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-17 23:08 -0400
        Re: Programming Style Hannu Vuolasaho <hannu.vuolasaho@nospam.tut.fi.invalid> - 2013-06-11 18:42 +0000
          Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-12 12:00 +1000
            Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-11 17:07 -1000
              Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-13 14:21 +1000
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-12 18:35 -1000
                Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-13 16:56 +1000
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-12 21:03 -1000
                Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-14 10:20 +1000
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-13 15:46 -1000
                Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-15 23:27 +1000
                Re: Programming Style Andrew Haley <andrew29@littlepinkcloud.invalid> - 2013-06-15 10:53 -0500
                Re: Programming Style Mark Wills <markrobertwills@yahoo.co.uk> - 2013-06-14 01:34 -0700
                Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-14 12:12 +0000
                Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-14 15:13 +0000
                Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-17 21:25 +1000
                Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-17 15:37 +0000
                Re: Programming Style Elizabeth D Rather <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-17 08:17 -1000
                Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-17 19:47 +0000
                Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-18 08:12 +0000
                Re: Programming Style Alex McDonald <blog@rivadpm.com> - 2013-06-17 12:59 -0700
                Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-17 23:33 -0400
                Re: Programming Style Hugh Aguilar <hughaguilar96@yahoo.com> - 2013-06-19 19:50 -0700
                Re: Programming Style Andrew Haley <andrew29@littlepinkcloud.invalid> - 2013-06-20 03:08 -0500
                Re: Programming Style Alex McDonald <blog@rivadpm.com> - 2013-06-20 01:55 -0700
                Re: Programming Style Andrew Haley <andrew29@littlepinkcloud.invalid> - 2013-06-20 05:10 -0500
                Re: Programming Style Bernd Paysan <bernd.paysan@gmx.de> - 2013-06-20 13:02 +0200
                Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-20 15:40 +0000
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-20 07:21 -1000
                Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-20 09:50 +0000
                Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-14 18:50 -0400
                Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-16 00:31 +1000
                Re: Programming Style Andrew Haley <andrew29@littlepinkcloud.invalid> - 2013-06-15 10:59 -0500
                Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-13 10:48 +0000
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-13 07:44 -1000
                Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-15 16:31 +0000
            Re: Programming Style albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2013-06-12 11:10 +0000
              Re: Programming Style mhx@iae.nl (Marcel Hendrix) - 2013-06-12 20:51 +0200
            Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-12 15:06 +0000
              Re: Programming Style "Ed" <invalid@invalid.com> - 2013-06-13 14:54 +1000
                Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-12 20:43 -1000
                Re: Programming Style anton@mips.complang.tuwien.ac.at (Anton Ertl) - 2013-06-14 12:45 +0000
          Re: Programming Style rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2013-06-14 16:39 -0400
            Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-14 11:37 -1000
        Re: Programming Style Hugh Aguilar <hughaguilar96@yahoo.com> - 2013-06-11 18:23 -0700
      Re: Programming Style "Elizabeth D. Rather" <erather@forth.com> - 2013-06-15 08:45 -1000

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