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From: Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Which code style do you prefer the most?
Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2025 06:46:11 +0100
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On 02.03.2025 02:24, Keith Thompson wrote:
> Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> writes:
>> On 01.03.2025 23:20, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>> On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 21:32:59 +0100, Janis Papanagnou wrote:
>>>> My guess is that this form is just an informal syntax mimicking Perl's
>>>> function parameter passing ...
>>>
>>> The idea of passing arguments by keyword predates Perl.
>>
>> That wouldn't surprise me. - I know it from Perl. - Which other
>> (earlier) languages do you have in mind? - What's its origin?
> 
> For example, it exists in Ada since 1983.  [...]

Back these day I had just a peek into Ada, never programmed with it.
(It appears to me to have it supported very nicely.)

> 
> The syntax is IMHO much nicer than using /*...*/ comments in C.

I think the "C"-comments are horrible, especially for that purpose;
I'd never do it that way.

(Though, I understand the individual impetus to mimic unsupported
features known from other languages.)

> [...]
> 
> Perl doesn't have keyword arguments as a language feature, but it can be
> mimicked by passing hash or hash reference.

Yes, that's how I perceived it. As a syntax pattern it's okay, IMO.
At least it's functional and not only informal (as with comments).

> 
> If I wanted to annotate arguments with parameter names, I'd probably use
> aligned // comments with the name at the end of the line:
> 
>     confection = prepare_carefully_according_to_detailed_recipe(
>         flat,             // pan
>         clarified_butter, // line_with
>         something_yummy,  // filling
>         lotsa_pastry,     // cover_with
>         90 * MINUTES      // bake_for
>       );
> 
> In practice, I seldom do so unless there's direct language support.

Yep.

And thanks for the hint to Ada.

Janis