it's more verbose, but it's easier to debug and maintain, and there's no run-time (speed) penalty for this verbosity, nor does it increase the size of the executable.

The main problem with some C programmers is that they seem to go for the prize won by the programmer that can squeeze most into one line. The example above by Andy show how much clarity can be gained by not succumbing to the temptation of trying to impress (which does not work anyhow). I have yet to see any practical person being impressed by "elegance" and I have seen many being severely unimpressed by "obfusciation" - isn't it odd that the two words in quotes refer to the same thing?.

The secondmost problem with some C programmers id that they believe that C is self-documenting. Just see the examples shown by Andy WHERE IS THE COMMENTS? Without looking at the code I would have no idea whether this is the standard C function or some modified version.

Erik