[Coco] just be considerate -- Re: "C" Compiling Was: New CoCo site for programmers

[Bob Devries]

Hi all,

One of the things I'd like to see is more interaction between programmers of 
the kind that will promote better programming in the various languages. 
We've seen some of this using Basic09, but little in the other languages.

Since I taught myself all the programming languages I now know (starting 
with assembler, then BASIC, C, and others), I would love to know where my 
programmes could be improved. I'm sure I don't use the best programming 
practice, but there's only so many books you can buy, and besides, I'm 
currently removed from my books by some 6000 kilometres.

Sometimes, a simple, "hey, you have this code, but you could have used this 
code more efficiently", is a good incentive to improve code.

another $0.02 (1 Peso)
Regards, Bob Devries
Soldier's 2, Las Pinas City, Philippines

--
Besides a mathematical inclination, an exceptionally good mastery of one's 
native tongue is the most vital asset of a competent programmer.

Edsger W.Dijkstra, 18 June 1975

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John W. Linville" <linville at tuxdriver.com>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 2:18 PM
Subject: [Coco] just be considerate -- Re: "C" Compiling Was: New CoCo site 
for programmers


I still think I've been misinterpreted, so I'm going to take one more
bite at the apple -- hopefully I don't manage to irritate anyone else
this time...

On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 09:39:15PM -0400, Aaron Wolfe wrote:

> A wise man (who participates here :) once told me that the only good
> reason to do development on the CoCo is the pleasure of seeing your
> own code run.

This is almost certainly true.  Of course, if this is enough to
satisfy you then you would have almost no reason to participate on
(or even subscribe to) the list here or on the forums at coco3.com.
There is plenty of technical information available to satisfy most
developer's needs without even exchanging a single message with anyone.

So, why are we all here?  I suspect that "community" plays a part,
and communities need to sustain themselves.  I, for one, take great
pleasure in hearing about real projects that people are doing and
(especially) seeing the results.  Not only is it fun to view new demos
or play new games, it also inspires new projects in my brain.  This is
part of what keeps me coming back.  Pooyan and Popcorn are great,
but I'd like to keep people interested in producing new stuff too. :-)

Now, some people have expressed that they will produce their projects
without any positive feedback from anyone and I think that is great.
But I think we should realize that not everyone is that way.  Even if
someone may continue with similar projects, there is no guarantee that
they will continue to do that in our community.  They may find the C64,
Apple, or Atari communities more hospitable or they may even simply
move-on to AVRs, PICs, ARMs, etc.  Is a talented developer like that
somehow less desirable for the community?  Are they simply too "needy"
for us to bother?  How many people like this have already moved-on?

All I'm saying is that if someone takes the time to make us aware
of their projects then we as individuals should endeavour to find
the strength to send them a "Hey, that's cool!" or "I really enjoyed
that!" or even a "How does that work?" message.  And (perhaps more
importantly) we all should resist taking pot shots at people's projects
-- yes, that has happened here far too often for my taste.

I'm sorry if I was too ineloquent to properly express this earlier.
And if I've still managed to irritate someone then I preemptively
apologize for that too. :-)  But seriously, I hope everyone will
consider my point the next time someone announces their latest
creation.

Thanks,

John
-- 
John W. Linville Someday the world will need a hero, and you
linville at tuxdriver.com might be all we have. Be ready.

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