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From:	huntercr AT cs DOT purdue DOT edu (Charles Randolph Hunter)
Newsgroups:	comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject:	Re: VOTE: CODE STANDARDS
Date:	6 Jun 1995 10:54:03 -0500
Organization:	Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue University
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References:	<3r1e10$e4u AT harbinger DOT cc DOT monash DOT edu DOT au>
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To:	djgpp AT sun DOT soe DOT clarkson DOT edu
Dj-Gateway:	from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp

junaid AT wilma DOT eng DOT monash DOT edu DOT au (Junaid A. Walker) writes:


>On Tue, 6 Jun 1995, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
>> > 	Junaid wrote;
>> >	Goody, because you wont mind me commenting on the coding
>> > style of go32 and friends. Please dont take offence, just my humble
>> > opinions.
>> 
>> Why was it necessary to send this to the entire DJGPP public?  Wasn't

>	Well since it concerns djgpp in general then it goes to all
>concerned.

>> private mail to DJ enough?  Critics on the coding style is as close to
>> personal as you can get with programmers, don't you think?

I agree completely. I was insulted and it's not even my code! 8-)

>	Not really (i was appologetic in the original message).
>Only DJ's ideas of coding style differ from mine, like your hair color
>is different. Maybe you might like my hair color, and get your
>hair dyed. No big deal. Just maybe we can both be happy.

>> 
>> And besides, with all the DJGPP coding work DJ does entirely voluntarily,
>> one wonders where does he get time to breathe, let alone adding comments
>> to code.  (Did you know his wife gave birth to a boy about 3 weeks ago?)
>> 

>	Well still doesnt change the facts - the code is basically
>undocumented, and has been that way since day one. Maybe its time
>we started documenting things (emx is a good example). Sure if we
>turn a blind eye to the state of the code, we'll all be fatter
>and happier, but
>i think we have to face the fact (esp if he has a newborn) that
>dj will not be with us forever.

Instead of complaining, why don't you spend your time documenting?
go32, for the average user, should not need looking at. A big part of 
DJGPP's job is GCC. I have compiled many GNU packages for GCC  and have yet 
to find one that is well documented. Good headers etc, but I have yet to 
find things as basic as function descriptions. Why? Because if you don't 
have time to figure out the code, you really shouldn't be messing with it.
 


>	Remeber standards work. The unspoken word and anarchy
>disintegrate rapidly. Who cares about dj anyway, he develops djgpp
>for his own personal interest, not for yours and not form mine.
>His stance is politically correct; i do it for fun, if you want to
>do things better, do it yourself. Enter me, i want to use djgpp
>for real work. Hence i want the greatest milage possible; unfortunately
>there are no roadmaps, and the path has washed away. Hopefully dj
>can guide the djgpp comunity enough that it can stand on its own
>feet.

Actually, there is a substantially large FAQ, and complete documentation for
GCC, G++, GAS, GDB, and everything I can think of ... what more do you want?

>	Also as i previous indicated, documentation tends, in the
>long run, to reduce design/test/debug/developer time. Since dj is
>obviously with djgpp for the long run, he might consider this.
>As for new comers (like myself, on and off the last few years),
>we should definitely be concerned about this issue. But this stigmatic
>issue has never been discussed before. A tradegy. Just be objective,
>and decide whatever you think is most beneficial.

It would be nice to document your code, but I don't see the point in 
complaining about it within DJGPP. What have you encountered that is really
DJGPP specific? 

>	It would be wise to put it to a vote; "does djgpp need some
>coding standards?". Any self respecting programmer would have to
>agree. Even demo coders have standards (and commented code i must
>add) ....

	I think that DJGPP follows the coding standards of its main source
of packages. Complain to the FSF if you don't like it. Your criticism
is valid, but I'm not sure that it is appropriate for DJGPP.


 -- Charles Hunter

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