Msg: 3215 *Conference*

09-21-92 08:50:08

From: RICHARD HANSON

To : WILLIAM BRENT

Subj: REPLY TO MSG #3209 (PROGRAM MODIFICATION)

Yes, I got your e-mail and responded, then you responded back, then you created
another e-mail.  All is okay on this end.
 
Your question about documentation: Documentation found within program lines is
neither good nor bad.  It depends on the overall structure of the program, or
program group.  I personally prefer separate documentation files vs. REM
statements; sepecially when there are more than one .BA files to the program.
In some cases, where the docs are far too short to dictate a separate file,
entering them into 0 REM lines, is a great idea, i.e., all REM lines start with
the number 0.  The last 0 line, after all the 0 REM lines is just 0 with
nothing else.  Constructed this way, the downloaded file contains both the docs
and the program, in that order.  But, when the receiver loads the file into
BASIC, each 0 line replaces the last.  The last 0 line, having nothing on it,
not only replaces the last 0 REM line but gets ignored in the final listing,
leaving behind just the program code in its smallest form.  It's a nice trick.
 
Yet another way to save space, this time in the .DO file, is to eliminate the
trailing space after the program numbers, i.e., 10CLS vs. 10 CLS.  The BASIC
interpreter will put the space back in as the .DO files gets loaded into BASIC.
 
Frankly, I think "programming tricks" are all part of the fun of programming.
-Rick-