Re: Open letter to Ian Collins

From	"BartC" <bc@freeuk.com>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: Open letter to Ian Collins
Date	2012-05-27 12:25 +0100
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<jpt30f$sdq$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References	<jprl29$ifd$1@speranza.aioe.org> <a2dhipF7faU1@mid.individual.net> <jpssi6$tf0$2@dont-email.me> <a2ee73F7faU5@mid.individual.net>

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"Ian Collins" <ian-news@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:a2ee73F7faU5@mid.individual.net...
> On 05/27/12 09:36 PM, BartC wrote:
>> "Ian Collins"<ian-news@hotmail.com>  wrote in message

>>> It be a lot easier to see what is what if these were declared on first
>>> use.
>>
>> As in, instead of reading a play which starts with a cast of characters,
>> they should be introduced whenever they first appear?
>>
>> Suppose you're delving into a random scene, (or have an extract for use
>> elsewhere), and want to be reminded who a character is, you have to start
>> ploughing through from page one first until you encounter their first
>> mention?
>
> A function is more like a limerick than a play.

In that case I can't see it being a big imposition if the names were
declared at the top of the function (ie. at the top of the screen if a
function is small). Then it gets the clutter out of the code. And all uses
of the name are identical (instead of one of them needing a declaration).
Although, it will make the function a bit longer..

>> Getting back to C, wouldn't macros and enumerations .... also
>> all benefit from being declared where they are first used?

> I would make them longer, unlike declaring variables when they are needed
> makes them shorter.

That's another thing; uses of i, j and k for loop indices is fairly
standard. They probably will be ints, and the formality of having to declare
them can be kept out of the way instead of making for-loops even longer.
(Alternatively for-loop variables could be implicitly declared.)

> Besides, how do you introduce a const other that where it is initialised?

What do you mean by a const? If it is a name that is to be used in several
places, then it can also benefit from splitting declaration (and 
initialisation) from it's use.

It gets more complicated when declarations in blocks are used (which
apparently have their own name spaces). But I've never used those, and if
functions are small as everyone says they should be, I can't see the need.

(Of course my point of view is from reading code rather than writing it. But
the former should have priority.)

-- 
Bartc

Thread

Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 00:22 +0200
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ike Naar <ike@sverige.freeshell.org> - 2012-05-26 22:36 +0000
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 01:13 +0200
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2012-05-26 16:53 -0700
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-05-26 16:41 -0700
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-26 22:43 -0400
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-05-26 15:41 -0700
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 01:14 +0200
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins MelissA <melis@a.com> - 2012-05-27 00:52 +0200
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Stephen Sprunk <stephen@sprunk.org> - 2012-05-26 20:40 -0500
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 09:32 +0200
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-27 07:18 -0400
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-05-27 14:24 +1200
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-05-27 10:36 +0100
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-05-27 22:33 +1200
        Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-05-27 12:25 +0100
          Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-05-28 07:17 +1200
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ike Naar <ike@sverige.freeshell.org> - 2012-05-27 13:03 +0000
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-05-27 15:16 +1200
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 09:30 +0200
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-05-27 20:56 +1200
        Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 11:12 +0200
          Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-05-27 21:22 +1200
            Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-27 07:15 -0400
            Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-05-27 07:49 -0700
              Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-27 13:55 -0400
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 22:24 +0200
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-05-27 22:09 +0100
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-05-27 14:33 -0700
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-27 17:49 -0400
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-27 17:31 -0400
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Philip Lantz <prl@canterey.us> - 2012-05-28 01:38 -0700
                Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-05-28 08:18 -0400
        Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-05-27 15:46 +0100
        Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-06-13 21:25 -0400
          Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-06-13 21:52 -0400
          Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-06-14 04:00 +0200
            Re: Open letter to Ian Collins pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-06-14 00:04 -0400
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-27 09:42 +0200
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-28 12:39 +0200
    Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-28 21:44 +0200
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins jacob navia <jacob@spamsink.net> - 2012-05-29 09:46 +0200
        Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-29 10:06 +0200
          Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-29 10:37 +0200
            Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-29 10:58 +0200
              Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "Joachim Schmitz" <nospam.jojo@schmitz-digital.de> - 2012-05-29 11:34 +0200
              Re: Open letter to Ian Collins Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-05-29 03:02 -0700
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-29 09:59 +0200
      Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-05-29 20:09 +0200
  Re: Open letter to Ian Collins "Sarah Wren" <swreb@ameritech.net> - 2012-05-29 01:40 -0600

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