From: grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu (Mike Percy)
Subject: Ed strikes comp.lang.c
Followup-To: nowhere 
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 16:42:39 GMT

Not, apparently, happy with amusing us in m.l, a.p.c, and a.c, Ed has
broadened his scope to further include politically correct C
programming, complete with psychoanalysis from afar of people who
program in certain styles and people who make typo's in pseudo-code.

He failed to share this with a.p.c and a.c, and since we've all enjoyed
his postings so much, I thought it a pity that readers who miss m.l and
c.l.c should be deprived...

I suppose I'll be chastised and analyzed by Mr. Nilges for this, but it
was in a public forum and I have propely attributed him as the author.
But if pressed, I'll say I'm not at fault, it's our racist, gender- and
economically-biased, capitalistic society populated with oprressive
white-male libertarians who've brainwashed me into being a
Punisher-wannabe...Ed can then come and see me through therapy to render
me a politically correct fascist socialist who is ashamed of the
behavior of his birth-tribe (and my therapy will be performed without
force, or punishment of any kind by kind, genderless, colorless,
perfect doctors who all make exactly the same amount of money as the 
person who fluffs my pillow every night at the wonderfully equipped free
clinic).

I hope Mr. Norton and Mr. Eckhardt don't mind that their comments got
included.
--------------------------- Ed's postings below ---------------------------
Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.lang.c
In article <BtnLup.Irz@NCoast.ORG> cmort@ncoast.org (Christopher Morton) writes:
>
>Your algorithm works out to:
>
>if(!(totalitarian_system)
>  {
>    piss;
>    moan;
>    whine;
>    cry;
>   }

Not only are none of your points worth replying to, Chris, there's a
stupid blunder in the above pseudo-C code.  Can you spot it?  I teach a
(politically correct) seminar in C programming that you may wish to ask
your boss to authorize at your site some time soon.

Give up?  The error, of course, is an unbalanced set of parentheses on
the first line.  The second left parenthesis, behind the ! "not" symbol,
is not needed, but incompetent programmers often overuse parentheses
because of their principled refusal to learn operator precedence.  They
call this "structured", using, as far as I can tell, the word
"structured" to mean "stupid."

Anyway, thanks for a laff, and remember that PC C seminar I mentioned!


Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.lang.c
In article <27AUG199222080334@zeus.tamu.edu> jle9162@zeus.tamu.edu (ECKHARDT, JASON LEE) writes:
>  I've been programming 'C' for nearly 7 years and I feel that 'overusing'
>  parentheses is not a sign of incompetent programming and definately not
>  stupid. Sure, learning (memorizing) precendence rules is important, but
>  there is nothing wrong with adding parens for clarity (ex. ++*pointer).
>  And I don't think this shows a 'refusal to learn operator precedence.'

In complicated expressions it is wise to have mercy on your program
reader and include extra parentheses to disambiguate code:


     if ( fanorkly_roo || ( grunkle && bugna ) )


but it is inexcusable to code


     if (!(farkle))


since it is obvious even to the tyro that the "scope" of the not
operator ! is "farkle" (what else COULD it be??)  

This nonsense got its start in a misreading of Gerald Weinberg's book
The Psychology of Computer Programming.  Incompetent programmers
interpreted Weinberg's call for a style that would show compassion for
readers of your code as a call excusing their OWN limitations and
failure to learn.  
-------- End of Ed's posting, well those included here anyway --------

Mike Percy             | grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu  | I don't know about
Sr. Systems Analyst    | mspercy@clemson.clemson.edu | your brain, but mine
Info. Sys. Development | mspercy@clemson.BITNET      | is really...bossy.
Clemson University     | (803) 656-3780              | (Laurie Anderson)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.correct