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

[Måns Rullgård]

The Wanderer <inverseparadox at comcast.net> writes:

> On 01/13/2006 03:43 PM, M?ns Rullg?rd wrote:
>
>> The Wanderer <inverseparadox at comcast.net> writes:
>>
>>> On 01/13/2006 02:44 PM, M?ns Rullg?rd wrote:
>
>>>> I find lines consisting entirely of whitespace very aggravating.
>>> And I find not having the indentation already in place on "blank"
>>> lines when navigating around a file very aggravating. If you can
>>> find some way of avoiding that without whitespace-only lines, I'd
>>> be interested to hear about it.
>> 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 ;-)

> 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.
The same goes for editors that let the cursor move freely beyond the
end of lines.  As for adding text on a blank line, pressing tab to
indent it doesn't take a lot of effort.

> 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.

>>>> If this is against your definition of "trailing", suggest a more
>>>> suitable word.  The rule isn't changing.
>>> I didn't (and don't) really expect it to. Doesn't change how I feel
>>> about the matter, though.
>> 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.

-- 
M?ns Rullg?rd
mru at inprovide.com