[18537] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Java: Helping the world build bigger idiots
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Greg Black)
Wed Sep 21 16:18:14 2005
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:38:41 +1000
From: Greg Black <cryptography@mail.gbch.net>
To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
Reply-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.4.61.0509201738470.1340@frame>
On 2005-09-20, Jerrold Leichter wrote:
> One thing to consider is that an idiom like this solves an annoying problem.
> Consider a linear search through an array:
>
> for (i = 0; i < lim; i++)
> { if (a[i] == target)
> { <do something>
> break;
> }
> }
> /*
> * Did we get here because we matched or because we
> * failed to match?
> */
No, we got here because we didn't know basic C usage. Come on
people, please stop creating these fake illustrations.
A real C programmer would have known that, if i == lim, there
was no match. This is so trivial it beggars belief that it
needs to be pointed out in a forum like this.
> Personally, I sometimes use:
>
> for (i = 0; i < lim; i++)
> { if (a[i] == target)
> goto found;
> }
>
> This draws shock and horror from some code readers, but I don't care. :-)
> Note how much it looks like the exception-based code.
It only draws gasps from people who don't know C. The goto that
is famously considered harmful is not spelled "goto" in C, but
rather "longjmp"; it's not used all that often and does need
careful handling. The C goto statement is purely a local goto
and scares nobody who has grown up.
Greg
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