NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #26/NN_1992_26.iso/spool/comp/lang/c/16400

Text File | 1992-11-12 | 1.6 KB | 36 lines

Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Path: sparky!uunet!utcsri!torn!utzoo!telly!druid!darcy
From: [e-mail] (D'Arcy J.M. Cain)
Subject: Re: How to use 'return' in c?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 12:55:24 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Organization: D'Arcy Cain Consulting
Lines: 25

srhqla!quest!kdq writes:
>[e-mail] (D'Arcy J.M. Cain) writes:
>> Whenever I see TRUE and FALSE in code I am maintaining I remove the
>> #defines.  If they are defined, they should never be anything but
>> TRUE = 1 and FALSE = 0.  Anything else is confusing and misleading.
>    On the other hand, since C does not truly support the boolean type,
>I consider it misleading to assign a numeric value to a boolean.  I
>define TRUE as (1==1) because the result of this is a boolean - the
>fact that it is represented by a numerical value is misleading.

Well as you say, C does not support the boolean type.  A true expression
evaluates to 1 and a false to 0.  That's the definition of the language.
(1==1) evaluates to 1 so it is the same as defining TRUE as 1.  If I see
TRUE and FALSE in your code i *still* have to check that it is defined
correctly.  The fact that your definition works is irrelevant, it still
costs me time to confirm that.

To me it seems like defining SEVEN as 7.  It's correct but I wouldn't
do it.

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