[Ffmpeg-cvslog] CVS: CVSROOT style.sh, NONE, 1.1 commitinfo, 1.1, 1.2

The Wanderer inverseparadox
Fri Jan 13 23:19:21 CET 2006


On 01/13/2006 04:45 PM, M?ns Rullg?rd wrote:

> The Wanderer <inverseparadox at comcast.net> writes:
> 
>> On 01/13/2006 03:43 PM, M?ns Rullg?rd wrote:

>>> I don't know what editor you use.  I use xemacs, and it has never
>>> occurred to me that this could be an issue.  Could you elaborate
>>> a bit on the problems you are experiencing?
>> 
>> There's not much "elaborating" to do; the problem is very simple,
>> and I'm not sure how to describe it much further without sounding
>> extremely petty.
> 
> Maybe it is petty ;-)

Perhaps, but it doesn't seem that way from my perspective.

>> Put simply: when navigating around a file (moving the cursor from
>> one point to another), I want to be able to have the cursor at the
>> correct indentation level for the surrounding code at all times -
>> even if there is no code on the current line. It helps me remain
>> focused on a particular part of the code, sometimes, and helps me
>> keep the "current" level of indentation (and hence the bounds of
>> the current scope) clear in my head. It's also convenient on the
>> (admittedly rare) occasions when I want to add new text on an
>> existing blank line, rather than inserting additional lines. I
>> don't honestly see how people who spend any significant amount of
>> time in the depths of source code can stand to get by without it...
> 
> It's funny, I can't stand working with code that has stray
> whitespace.

With my own "definition" of trailing whitespace, I'd probably agree.

> The same goes for editors that let the cursor move freely beyond the
> end of lines.

I hadn't even brought that up - I wouldn't like that, either, and have
fortunately rarely if ever seen sucn an editor.

> As for adding text on a blank line, pressing tab to indent it doesn't
> take a lot of effort.

True, but that's relevant only in the third of the three points I
mentioned - which is, looked at objectively, probably the least
important of them.

>> For the record, I use nano for general text editing, because it's
>> lightweight, and jed for almost all of my code editing (I would use
>> emacs, but I've never had the necessary impetus to get over the
>> initial learning-curve hurdle) because it provides syntax
>> highlighting and auto-indentation. However, the exact same
>> "behaviour" (if that's even an applicable word) has been present in
>> every editor I've ever used, down to MS Word and Notepad; it
>> doesn't really seem to be an "editor" thing.
> 
> I've seen editors that allow the cursor to move anywhere on the
> screen.  I haven't used any in quite a while, so I can't remember
> which ones it might have been.

Yeah, that's just... ew. It wouldn't help in terms of keeping the
current indentation clear, either, because the limit on how far the
cursor can be moved is the critical point there...

>>> You are obviously entitled to hold whatever opinions you wish.
>>> Just don't try to enforce them on others, and especially not on
>>> those who actually write the code.
>> 
>> If it were not for the last part, I could turn that argument right
>> back around on you. Since there *are* two classes of people
>> involved here, however...
> 
> You originally made two objections: 1) that using the phrase
> "trailing whitespace" to describe lines consisting entirely of
> whitespace was inaccurate, and 2) that you didn't like the rule as
> implemented.  1) can be discussed in terms of meanings of words, and
> m-w.com doesn't give any definition that applies directly to this
> case.  2) is a matter of personal opinion, and can not be discussed
> in terms of right or wrong.  I happen to disagree with you on the
> whitespace thing, but I will not try to make you change your mind.  I
> will, however, try to influence style rules that apply to code that I
> work with, the reasons hopefully being obvious.

...I'm not entirely sure how this is relevant to what I'd just said...

My point, insofar as I had any, was that you (collective "you") *are*
trying to enforce your own opinion in this matter on others. The reason
this is not just as unacceptable as my trying to do the same is that the
"you" involved are people who *do* work with the code, and I am not.

I'll note merely that the enforcement of this rule would stand as an
additional obstacle for me (or anyone else who shares my views, should
there be such people) to have to overcome in order to ever contribute to
the code... and frankly, I believe it's well established that the code
is such a comparative tangle that there are enough obstacles already.

-- 
       The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.





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