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Re: [using gcc book] ch10.11 Certain Changes We Don't Want to Make
- From: Richard Earnshaw <rearnsha at arm dot com>
- To: Chris Devers <cdevers at pobox dot com>
- Cc: Zack Weinberg <zack at codesourcery dot com>, GCC list <gcc at gcc dot gnu dot org>, Richard dot Earnshaw at arm dot com
- Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 10:22:31 +0100
- Subject: Re: [using gcc book] ch10.11 Certain Changes We Don't Want to Make
- Organization: ARM Ltd.
- Reply-to: Richard dot Earnshaw at arm dot com
> On Mon, 25 Aug 2003, Zack Weinberg wrote:
>
> > Well, the paragraph does need to justify the policy decision not to
> > include this feature, so:
> >
> > * Warning when a non-void function value is ignored.
> >
> > We feel that there are legitimate reasons to ignore function
> > return values, and that writing @code{(void)} before every
> > function call whose result is intentionally ignored makes the
> > program harder to read for little benefit.
>
> Clear & to the point. Very good.
>
> My only quibble is the first person plural -- would it be fair to say "The
> GCC development group" instead of "we"? The GNU style guidelines I've
> been asked to go by discourage any use of the first person, so a big part
> of what I've been working on has been rephrasing sentences this way.
>
Well, the whole chapter is entitled "Changes *WE* don't want to make" (my
emphasis). I think in this case there is some latitude for expressing the
collective opinion of the developers. Maybe we should just start the
chapter with a statement to that effect and then continue to use "we" as
appropriate.
R.