Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.16 $; site eel.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!eel!lee From: lee@eel.UUCP Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: Re: Use of expression values in C Message-ID: <700002@eel.UUCP> Date: Sat, 13-Jul-85 10:56:00 EDT Article-I.D.: eel.700002 Posted: Sat Jul 13 10:56:00 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 17-Jul-85 05:37:07 EDT References: <5764@utzoo.UUCP> Lines: 17 Nf-ID: #R:utzoo:-576400:eel:700002:000:930 Nf-From: eel!lee Jul 13 10:56:00 1985 The degree of readability of "if ((foo=..." is a reasonable subject of debate, but I decline to back down on the general assertion that one mark of a professional is a genuine effort to *maximize* readability, not just to bring it above some minimum threshold. As with any form of communication, there is no absolute scale on which to evaluate a speech, lecture, article or program as to its "readability", that is, the degree to which a person can absorb the information contained within it. People who teach writing and communication stress that the item MUST be designed with the expected audience in mind. An article written to explain FORTRAN to novice programmers will be inefficient (i.e. not maximally readable) to an experienced programmer. Likewise, programs "likely" to be read by expert programmers might well be more readable when "if ((fp=fopen..." is used even if for other programmers the opposite is true.