On coding practices

Coding rules are written for particular community of people who intend to review, maintain, or use the code. It is called coding standard. But there are 2 other important sources which influence the style. These are taste and simplicity. I disagree on that the coding standard, whatever it is, has to be followed blindly.

So 3 points influencing the style are:
1. Personal taste: You personal choice
2. Simplicity/clarity: Do not sacrifice clarity to your or other people's taste
3. Community: What most (other) people expect to see when looking at the code.

My personal preferences are:
1. Find which community is likely to work later with the code.
2. Follow coding rules if they do not disagree with your taste and code clarity.
3. If a rule is not good from your point of view, decide which one: your taste or community is more important in that context.
4. If a rule makes code less simple or clear, ignore the rule. [This is very subjective so be prepare to stand for your opinion]

19.04.2007