Author: Ratko V Tomic
Date: 17:05:47 10/13/99
Go up one level in this thread
I thought so and just moved two functions at the top and the compiler was happy. Generally, I think specifying function arguments & return value at the top of function and in the header as prottype (as required in C++) can only increase the probability of coding error (as does anything that requires keying in two or more times the identical thing) and doesn't help the slightest anything else. If functions are used in other modules then the existence of that function prototype in the header carries some nonzero info useful in program maintance (e.g. you then know if you modify the function you need to visit and see other modules for any side-effects). But when all functions, whether used outside or just within a module, have their protypes in the header, this useful info is lost. You also, in practice, lose backward reference code structure, which is quite helpful if you're looking at other persons code and wish to get a quick idea of the hierarchy of the code. If the code doesn't have extrenious protoypes in the header, then you know that the low level support functions are at the top of the file and higher level logic at the bottom of the file. With headers used to cover the forward references, you lose that kind of hierarchy info (or discipline) as well.
This page took 0.01 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.