R is GNU S, not C.... [was "how to get or store ....."]
On 06-Dec-05 Deepayan Sarkar wrote:
[...] The greater readability of the first relative to the second is obvious. The compactness of the second relative to the first is evident. Obtaining the second from the first by repeated "J" is very quick.
I'm curious: exactly what purpose does this 'compactness' serve? The file size doesn't decrease, since you are replacing newlines by semicolons. It does not improve readability. So why do it at all? -Deepayan
You are taking a more abstract and logical a view than I do! a) It is more compact in the sense that the same anount of code takes fewer lines. b) My "editing" window is typically about 56 lines tall. Once I have got the code working as I want, I can "compact" it onto fewer lines, thereby leaving more space for further code all of which will be visible in the same screen space. c) Since the "compacted" code is already OK, I don't need to be able to read it so readily -- it is enough that I can see it when I need to refer to it. It is all a matter of layout, perception and psychology: by experience I have found that this way of working improves my accuracy and speed, and my overview of the problem (and hence my ability to see solutions). This may or may not be valid for anyone else; but as far as I'm concerned it is (along with the "J" trick when using vim) a cogent (if personal) reason for putting ";" at the ends of commands. Which was the original point. Best wishes, Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 06-Dec-05 Time: 21:01:30 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------