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Asked: 2026-05-10T19:57:43+00:00

What advantage, if any, is provided by formatting C code as follows: while(lock_file(lockdir)==0) {

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What advantage, if any, is provided by formatting C code as follows:

while(lock_file(lockdir)==0)     {     count++;     if(count==20)         {         fprintf(stderr,'Can't lock dir %s\n',lockdir);         exit(1);         }     sleep(3);     } if(rmdir(serverdir)!=0)     {     switch(errno)         {         case EEXIST:             fprintf(stderr,'Server dir %s not empty\n',serverdir);             break;         default:             fprintf(stderr,'Can't delete dir %s\n',serverdir);         }     exit(1);     } unlock_file(lockdir);

versus something more typical such as

while(lock_file(lockdir)==0) {     count++;     if(count==20) {         fprintf(stderr,'Can't lock dir %s\n',lockdir);         exit(1);     }     sleep(3); } if(rmdir(serverdir)!=0) {     switch(errno) {         case EEXIST:             fprintf(stderr,'Server dir %s not empty\n',serverdir);             break;         default:             fprintf(stderr,'Can't delete dir %s\n',serverdir);     }     exit(1); } unlock_file(lockdir);

I just find the top version difficult to read and to get the indenting level correct for statements outside of a long block, especially for longs blocks containing several nested blocks.

Only advantage I can see is just to be different and leave your fingerprints on code that you’ve written.

I notice vim formatting would have to be hand-rolled to handle the top case.

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1 Answer

  1. The top example is know as ‘Whitesmiths style’. Wikipedia’s entry on Indent Styles explains several styles along with their advantages and disadvantages.

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