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Date:      Thu, 07 Mar 2002 00:37:22 -0500
From:      admin@twwells.com
To:        freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: RFC: style(9) isn't explicit about booleans for testing.
Message-ID:  <E16iqag-0002DA-00@bill.twwells.com>
References:  <200203061659.g26GxI979195@thistle.bogs.org>

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Try this text instead:

	In C, there is no boolean type but there are boolean
	concepts, contexts that express or test yes/no, good/bad,
	error/success, pointer initialized/not initialized, object
	created/not created, and so on.

	Where a conceptually boolean operand is expected and you
	have a value that is not conceptually boolean, use an
	operator (e.g., ==, !=) that translates the operand to
	something that is conceptually boolean. This applies to
	"if" expressions, the operand of !, function parameters
	that want a conceptually boolean value, and so on.

This is actually a special case of a more general rule, which
might be stated: saving a few keystrokes but violating the
expectations of strangers reading your code is not a good way to
write maintainable code. Ensure that the code and your intention
are congruent *in the mind of your readers*.

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