C is actually a free format language. This means that there are
no rules about how it must be typed, when to start new lines, where to
place brackets or whatever. This has both advantages and dangers. The
advantage is that the user is free to choose a style which best suits
him or her and there is freedom in the way in which a program can be
structured. The disadvantage is that, unless a strict style is
adopted, very sloppy programs can be the result. The reasons for
choosing a well structured style are that:
- Long programs are manageable only if programs are
properly organized.
- Programs are only understandable if care is taken in
choosing the names of variables and functions.
- It is much easier to find parts of a program if a strict
ordering convention is maintained. Such a scheme becomes
increasingly difficult to achieve with the size and complexity
of the problem.
No simple set of rules can ever provide the ultimate solution to writing
good programs. In the end, experience and good judgement are the factors
which decide whether a program is written well or poorly written. The
main goal of any style is to achieve clarity. Previously
restrictions of memory size, power and of particular compilers often
forced restrictions upon style, making programs clustered and
difficult. All computers today are equipped with more than enough memory
for their purposes, and have very good optimizers which can produce
faster code than most programmers could write themselves without help,
so there are few good reasons not to make programs as clear as possible.