[RFA] Evening up the right margins

Joel Brobecker brobecker@adacore.com
Wed Jan 12 14:59:00 GMT 2011


> Mark and Joel, I'm especially interested in your feedback.

I think some are bettter, and some are worse.  I agree that shortening
some of the lines seem to make the paragraph more visually pleasing,
and perhaps easier to read. However, I also think that it has made
some of the lines a little harder to read.  For instance:

+   The GNAT encoding used to describle the array index type evolved a
+   bit.  Initially, the information would be provided through the

Here, you split "a" from "bit".  I tend to avoid that.  This is not
a mandatory practice, and I learnt it many years ago when, I think,
I was reviewing the typographical practices recommended by the
"Bibliotheque de France".

My take on this is that changes that reduce the line length should be
made if you think that the result is easier to read/better, or if
it exceeds the 80 columns.  If we agree than 70 characters is the
guideline (I feel like argument for 74 to match the ChangeLog, but
let's not until we spend more time following the current 70), then
I think it's fine to leave things as is.

The following is a matter of taste, so just my preference:

> +        error (_("Fixed-point values must be "
> +		 "assigned to fixed-point variables"));

If you can fit the entire string on one line and still not exceed
the 80 characters limit, I personally prefer everything on the same line.
I suppose it will stick out a little, if we mostly follow the 70
characters guideline, but it's easier to read.  Not a strong opinion,
however.

Comments of the following format are not complient, however, and
should be fixed:

        /* Line 1
         * Line 2
         * Line 3
         */

I can take care of the ada-* part, but I'm going to be a little
busy over the next few days...

-- 
Joel



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