From: bill.gunshannon@gmail.com

On 8/29/2025 9:24 AM, Dan Cross wrote:
> In article ,
> bill   wrote:
>> On 8/29/2025 9:11 AM, Dan Cross wrote:
>>> In article <108k9de$1f69$1@dont-email.me>,
>>> Simon Clubley   wrote:
>>>> On 2025-08-25, Arne Vajhøj  wrote:
>>>>> [snip]
>>>>> But it is less obvious with other operators.
>>>>>
>>>>> Example:
>>>>>
>>>>> 4 == 4 == True
>>>>>
>>>>> Most languages (possible all exception Python) evaluate
>>>>> that to True, because it is treated like:
>>>>>
>>>>> (4 == 4) == True
>>>>>
>>>>> But it is False in Python because it is treated like:
>>>>>
>>>>> (4 == 4) and (4 == True)
>>>>>
>>>>> Which feels less natural.
>>>>
>>>> And _this_ is an example of why Simon's policy of backets around
>>>> everything makes it explicitly clear what was intended. :-)
>>>
>>> *At some expense for expert users.
>>>
>>> Which again, comes back to what I think is _actually_ the
>>> interesting question: who do we write these programs for?
>>
>> Which is why I always preferred working for people with well defined
>> local coding (and comment) standards.  And, yes, I have worked for both.
>
> Yup, though this doesn't _really_ address the question.
>
> But yes: having a locally agreed upon style for such things is a
> _huge_ boon for maintainability, particularly across a large
> codebase.  Sure, it's fun to belly up to the virtual bar and
> debate the relative merits of different styles on USENET,
> complete with contrived examples for or against different
> conventions.  But the reality is that if one is consistent
> within a code base, it doesn't really matter all that much;
> competent programmers will absorb the rules in a matter of days
> or weeks.
>
> The issue is that someone has to define the style and then
> mandate its use, and it has to be enforced through rigorous
> review and automated tooling.  Given a sufficiently large group
> of users, not everyone is going to agree with every rule; the
> trick is in getting them to follow those rules regardless.

If you are an employee you either comply, find a new position
or get fired.  No real trick at all.

bill

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