Lloyd L Chambers wrote:
> Bill,
>
> Your use of the pejorative "devolve" does not appeal to me.
Nor to me. I don't want to see this conversation head in that direction.
Let's not let it.
> For me (and Byron apparently), it's not at all about "likes" or
> "dislikes". Would that it were so! Then it would clearly be non-
> productive. But I completely disagree that it's likes or dislikes at
> issue here, and your assertion attempts to invalidate and repudiate my
> point of view. I am not offended, but that is an approach which ends
> the conversation right there (for me), since it presumes that my point
> of view is merely a whim.
>
> For me, it's about being able to read the code with a *low error rate*.
>
> I find I frequently have to read and reread code in order to see where
> the braces match up, particularly with the variant ragged-right styles
> I continually come across. This gets harder with tired eyes and long
> hours, and is a pointless waste of time and source of errors. Symmetry
> is far easier to see than asymmetry.
>
> I am a very visually-oriented person, and the asymmetry is particularly
> awkward for me. As a photographer, I often see how strikingly
> different my perceptions are from another photographer's. It is NO
> DIFFERENT with code--and I accept that some people are more adept at
> the asymmetric ragged-right style. But NOT ME. It is not a style that
> is easy for me, in spite of having to deal with it every day. I find
> it frustrating to read it. And unreasonable that others seem to think
> that my perceptions are just the same as theirs. They are not.
>
> I've tried to "get used to it" (no choice, given that it's the dominant
> style), but it is always harder for me, and beyond hard, it's error
> prone in much of the *actual* code I come across, which is often
> inconsistent in its style, even within the same method--there is no
> hard and fast rule--it keeps me guessing.
Essentially everything you say matches my view of the coding style you're
using. In the end, we're just going to disagree. You think it matters
which coding style we choose. My experience has been that it matters less
which style we choose, and it matters more that everyone learn and use the
chosen style.