RE: Free-format RPG

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Pete Clifford
>
> I wonder how much time I've spent over the last 20 years typing...
>
> C..lean on spacebar....code...<enter>
> C..lean on spacebar....code...<enter>
> C..lean on spacebar....code...<enter>   etc.?!!??

Yeah, but I'll counter with this...

I hate copying a block of code, and then having to use the delete key or
space bar to move it left or right 6 columns to line it up correctly.

I also hate going into somebody else's code who indents differently than I
do, because now my normal typing pattern is disrupted.

I hate forgetting to indent after an if, or undent before an end-if.

But most of these are nits, and can be dealt with - that's what smart
editors are for.  Copy, paste, edit, reformat, save.

<grin>

Seriously, I use RPG and Java every day.  And lately I've been doing a good
chunk of COBOL.  The indent/undent issue is purely a matter of taste, with
no intrinsic value.  Some might argue.  One man's junk, another's treasure.

Interestingly, if they were to do what I suggested and enable the extended
factor two in fixed format, indent/undent would be the only difference
between free-format and fixed.  And at that point, it would be purely a
choice between which bugged you more: fixed columns or semicolons.

Joe