Show HN: C Style - my favorite C programming practices

https://github.com/mcinglis/c-style

by majika • 13 years ago

5 2 13 years ago

github.com

nwmcsween• 13 years ago

A few things I disagree with / question:

* The comment includes, this leads to state, you now have to manage what you comment.

* Bool hides the data type.

* ++ vs +=... really?

* VLA usage is debatable.

* There are many more warnings that are useful

majika• 13 years ago

The comment includes, this leads to state, you now have to manage what you comment.

True, but I think it's better to have explicit state that provides information for the reader. It's also harder to determine if you can remove a header or not, if it's hard to work out what it gives you.

Bool hides the data type.

I consider `bool` an abstraction that's useful and standard. You generally shouldn't need to know the data type under a `bool` anyway.

++ vs +=... really?

Yes..? I said this on Reddit: `++` and `+=` both as simple as each other. They both do the same thing. The differences are:

- one is useful for other, similar, situations, and the other isn't

- one is more readable to people with no programming experience, and the other isn't (if you say C isn't for new programmers - why can't it be?)

- one has complicated evaluation rules, and a twin brother

- one encourages state changes in expressions, like `xs[ i++ ]`, and that way lies madness

That's why I don't like `++` and `--`, but I knew this would be a hard sell when the language is founded on the examples in K&R :-)

VLA usage is debatable.

I've heard that. Besides not being able to be initialized, why?

There are many more warnings that are useful

I started out with every warning I could find for C, but I removed them as I came across trivial situations that raised warnings - in which case, I didn't consider them worth it.

What other warnings do you work with?

Show HN: C Style - my favorite C programming practices

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