Good programming

Adhering to good programming principles pays in clarity of programs, and facilitates debugging (finding errors).

• Get into the habit of structural programming.
  • Be aware of the distinction between main program, and subprograms. The main program should play different role - it should direct the course of action, not do the actions. Avoid formulas, computations, algorithms in the main part of the program. Have the ``subordinate" subprograms do the tasks
  • Split longer subprograms into smaller blocks (also subprograms, or modules), preferably the ones you can re-use. As a rule of thumb - subprogram listing should fit within one typed page (60 lines).
  • Generalize! If you want to average 3 numbers, you can use FUNCTION Average(x1,x2,x3). But you should write tt FUNCTION Average (X()) that averages as many numbers as you ask.
• Use comments! Write the purpose of each subprogram before writing the code. Test the operation of the program with ``empty", or test subprograms before you write the actual code for your subprograms.
• Avoid Label and GoTo instructions. Whenever possible, use While ... End, Do ... Loop, or For ... ... End constructions.
• Test each sub-program separately, ne at a time, and use only well-tested modules.

Adhering to the principles below is not a guarantee that the programs will work. It is also possible to write programs that execute correctly without any of the below. Nevertheless, it is a good habit to follow these recommendation. The gain is in clarity of the program, readability of its portions. Consequently, you will be able to design more complex programs that execute as expected. You will also re-use components easier.

If you wrote a program that uses GOTO statement(s), it is a good exercise to re-write it without a single GOTO instruction!