Coding Styles

[Pete]

+1 to that!

[Kernelpanic]

About 30 years ago I had a book about software development in my hand in which GoTo was described in a conversation about programming. I didn't buy it at the time - I would have to pay 50 DM for a book again - but I've never forgotten it. A few days ago I came across the book through a reference and bought it straight away for 4.50 euros. It's the book with the conversation.

The original English edition is: Steve Maguire, Debugging the Software Development Process, MS-Press 1994.

The conversation begins on page 59 of the German edition and goes on for two pages. Copying it out is too much for me and I can't find a way to copy it as text and paste it into the translator.

But maybe someone will find the original book as a PDF file or in a library. It's worth it, and not just because of the conversation.

Debugging the Development Process

In German: Strategien der Software- Entwicklung

[quickbasic]

https://www.mediafire.com/file/v3i6vsabz...olidi+team. pdf/file

[dano]

Gosub:
I hate Gosub and only use it when necessary. To my mental state is adds to the clutter and muddies the flow.

Subs/Functions:
I love Subs/Functions. I think it clarifies the code and makes it much more readable.  If there is a large amount of cluttered code and moving it to a Sub/Function will make things more readable I will sometimes create a Sub/Function even if that is only used in a couple places.  Clarity and ease of understanding is king for me.

Libraries:
With my libraries I am anal about keeping things compatible and running smooth.  If there is a Sub/Function that does not fit the current need, I will change it.  A lot of my libraries have control parameters that I will pass to adapt for these current 'updates' - this makes sure that the new features will not break the functionality for legacy code (ok...sometimes yes, but rarely). I use the pipe character a lot for embedding controls into passed data for an update to a Sub/Function.  I like that character since I never use it with real world data.

If/ElseIf/Else:
Unlike Steve, I do like the If/ElseIf/Else for logical processes. To me it is easier to read and sometimes necessary for concise code.

Comments:
I love comments...although I will have to admit that I write and debug, and then go back to add comments.  I will change the code too many times to comment while I am writing it.  A lot of the time I sit down with an idea and start typing well before I have all of the logic worked out - I go on the fly.  Quite often it needs changing...and sometimes a lot of changing.

Boolean:
I love Boolean expressions.  The ability to use them as not only operators, but to also be able to use them for And/Or expressions without actually using And/Or is tits! (that is a throwback term from my childhood and it means awesome for you newbies!).

Line Numbers:
Wait...whaaa?!?  Line numbers are still a thing?  Holy crap people - do you still use punch cards too?

Suffixes/type identifiers:
I love them. It allows me to immediately recognize the type of variable and (hopefully) see my errors quicker.