+1.
On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 12:46 AM, Philip Guenther <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 26, 2012 at 8:10 PM, Tito Mari Francis Escaño
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I'm trying to re-learn ANSI C as part of the effort to write a book for
>> beginners or intermediate level. I'm thinking of including the use of ANSI
>> C code compliance checker, similar to PHP CodeSniffer, that detects whether
>> a given C program file complies with a coding standard. Can you please give
>> me pointers what tools OpenBSD developers use for this purpose? I
>> understand that indent is used to format a given program file, but how
>> about detecting whether a given file is coding standard compliant?
>
> The only tool *this* OpenBSD developer uses for checking *coding
> standard* compliance is his brain. For KNF stuff (c.f. style(9)) you
> just read enough of it and the stuff that's wrong starts to stick out.
> But really, that's just the bottom level: syntax is important only
> because it can obscure the semantics. It's like when reading a book:
> the font it was printed in doesn't matter unless it distracts you from
> the *words*.
>
> What's important in coding style are things like clarity, portability,
> and efficiency. While a few aspects of portability can be checked
> mechanically, those mostly have to be checked *and balanced* by a
> brain.
>
>
> I recommend the book "The Practice of Programming", by Brian W.
> Kernighan and Rob Pike, for those interested in these sorts of
> considerations.
>
>
> Philip Guenther
