Talk:Prettyprint

message: Should we mention TeX or LaTeX, or one of the similar programs? --Whiteknight 02:56, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Tex

message: I am a highschool JAVA student and it looks to me like JAVA but...I can't tell...
: C. Dysprosia 09:21, 30 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  What programming language is the example in? 

message: Would it be sensible to mention commercial packages here? e.g. SourceStyler, PolyStyle, SourceFormatX and StyleManager.  I'm not sure of the etiquette on Wikipedia on linking to non-free resources (it could be considered advertising).  In the interests of full disclosure it's fair to point out I work for ProFactor who product StyleManager, hence I think it wise I check before suggesting these links! TheMoog 15:06, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: My understanding of Wikipedia policy is that links to commercial resources are fine, as long as they respect the same quality standards as other links.  In particular, not only should the site be informative, but if it is a product site, it should be a notable product, not (for example) a recent start-up or a company with a tiny market share. --Macrakis 15:34, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Now a year on and I hope nobody minds if I link our product here too - I don't know our own market share but our product has been out and selling happily for over a year now, so I'd like to think we meet the requirements.  As far as notable, we are the one of the only remaining actively developed source code formatting packages so I think that makes us noteworthy (compare the build dates and versions of the other commercial offerings). TheMoog 22:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

text: I believe mention of commercial packages is appropriate here, since the topic itself is not inherently restricted to open source software. I disagree with the anonymous action of a year ago where someone deleted references to commercial software, and if there is a Wikipedia policy statement on this, someone please post it below. Moreover, if a commercial package is robust, actively supported, and has a user community, it has more weight than a one-man project on sourceforge which is still in "alpha" release. Some of the open source projects mentioned in the article are stale or abandoned, and the better-known packages ought to receive mention. Censoring mention of a commercial product simply because it is commercial or "non-free" is still censorship. On the other hand, start-up products less than a year old should have a one-year delay before posting links to them. EricP (talk) 23:25, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Commercial packages

message: I always thought these were two separate things. Code beautification actually changes the source code, i.e. its ASCII representation -- usually by changing indentation and line breaking (i.e. fiddle round with whitespace). Pretty printing does not leave you with ASCII or change the indentation or line-breaking (or do any insertion, deletion or alterations of characters), but rather changes the typeface, weight, slant and/or colour of bits of text in a way that corresponds to the lexical/grammatical structure of the language. So it leaves you with some kind of rich text representation designed for easy human reading on-screen or in hardcopy form.   That's just how I always interpreted these terms -- am I wrong? --Russell E 03:07, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually there are three aspects mixed together: (a) modifying a program's source to present it in a more readable form but not necessarily intended for further editing, (b) modifying a program's source to make it more readable - but still editable, and (c) showing a program's source in a more readable way without modifying it at all.  Normally pretty-printing is just the first.  Mixing indent with it is typically done by people unfamiliar with the topic. Tedickey (talk) 23:32, 4 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pretty Printing vs Code Beautification 

message: I've added a paragraph on Virtual Formatting, because it seems both an obvious and significant alternative to using whitespace for formatting code in certain circumstances. I should declare a self-interest in that my company produces a virtual formatting XML tool. I've been advised by others that there are examples of virtual formatting tools around, but I've had no success in tracking one down to use as an example. Phil Fearon (talk) 10:40, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: But then WP:Notability isn't met TEDickey (talk) 10:47, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

text: Do you have any WP:RS pointing out that they use this term, in a manner consistent with your definition?  I've found none.  Googling on it finds only random unrelated uses.  Without that, it's WP:OR TEDickey (talk) 20:46, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

text: Thanks TEDickey (talk) 22:16, 20 August 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Virtual Formatting

message: Note on the code examples:  the function has return type "int," but the example code does not return any value.  I therefore suggest that you change the function to return type "void." 216.98.223.200 (talk) 20:58, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Code examples 

message: I proposed a warn concerning Online beautifiers that can be found on the Web. Please wikify it. --Nbrouard (talk) 08:37, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Security of Online beautifiers