larry@zeek.UUCP (Larry Podmolik) (02/16/89)
I'm looking for information on the following 2 subjects: 1. C programming estimates for programmers of various levels working on programs of varying complexity. I think this is probably harder than for, say, COBOL because knowledge of UNIX libraries, etc. can make such a big difference (both in coding speed and in lines of code that need to be written). Also, debugging time can vary so widely - sloppy C programs can be IMPOSSIBLE! Also, how long do you think people need to be trained before they are productive? If anyone has experience in this area that they would like to relate, (preferably something like lines of code/day or time to complete an (easy, medium, hard) module of x length, please e-mail me and I'll summarize. 2. C programming guidelines/standards. I know Plum publishes a book on this, but does anybody else have any words of wisdom? I'd like to skip formatting issues COMPLETELY (braces, indentation, etc) and focus on organization, modularity, portability, questionable practices to avoid, etc. (No, I don't expect a "cookbook" to turn bad programmers into good ones!) Again, please respond via e-mail if possible. Thanks in advance for any help, --Larry
reggie@pdn.nm.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) (02/17/89)
In article <186@zeek.UUCP> larry@zeek.UUCP (Larry Podmolik) writes: >I'm looking for information on the following 2 subjects: >1. C programming estimates for programmers of various levels working on > programs of varying complexity. I think this is probably harder than > for, say, COBOL because knowledge of UNIX libraries, etc. can make > such a big difference (both in coding speed and in lines of code that > need to be written). Also, debugging time can vary so widely - sloppy > C programs can be IMPOSSIBLE! Well, I can't help out much on the programming estimates part (who honestly can?). However, as far as the knowledge of UNIX libraries is concerned, one of the excellent books on C does provide thorough coverage of this area: Samual P. Harbison and Guy L. Steele, C: A Reference Manual, 2nd Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1987 Something that may help with the more difficult parts of C for beginners is: Alan Feuer, The C Puzzle Book, Prentice-Hall, 1982 Hmm, COBOL??? I remember an absolutely impossible 800 line COBOL program I once met up with in the seedy IBM world many moons ago...... > Also, how long do you think people need to be trained before they are > productive? If anyone has experience in this area that they would like > to relate, (preferably something like lines of code/day or time to > complete an (easy, medium, hard) module of x length, please e-mail me > and I'll summarize. That depends upon the individual and their previous experiences. I mean, is C the *only* new element for these people to learn? Will they be moving from something like MVS to UNIX as well? Is there at DBMS involved? Is this a new application area for these people? There are a lot of factors that can come into play here that are often overlooked. >2. C programming guidelines/standards. I know Plum publishes a book on > this, but does anybody else have any words of wisdom? I'd like to skip > formatting issues COMPLETELY (braces, indentation, etc) and focus on > organization, modularity, portability, questionable practices to > avoid, etc. (No, I don't expect a "cookbook" to turn bad programmers > into good ones!) Again, please respond via e-mail if possible. We used Plum's book back in late 1983 to start with. However, we went through it page by page and classified each item as a must, a nice practice but not required or not applicable. I don't know how up to date the book is now, but it is one of the few books on the topic. I would recommend reading: Andrew Koenig, C Traps and Pitfalls, Addison-Wesley, 1989 This book, while relatively compact, contains a wealth of programming experience with C. It has contributions from many experience C programers from real life experience. For programming style, in general, the bible is: Brian Kernighan and P.J. Plauger, The Elements of Programming Style, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1978 The examples are in FORTRAN and PL/1, but are very much applicable to almost any procedural language. -- George W. Leach Paradyne Corporation ..!uunet!pdn!reggie Mail stop LG-129 reggie@pdn.nm.paradyne.com P.O. Box 2826 Phone: (813) 530-2376 Largo, FL USA 34649-2826