[patch] change increment/decrement operators from postfix to prefix

Hi all,
  this patch (for trunk) is a first chunk of a janitorial task
changing all operator++ and operator-- from postfix to prefix form
where it doesn't impact the code flow. There are other cases where a
more in-depth refactoring may improve readability, but I'll save them
for more focused activities.
I'd like to be authorized to commit directly to trunk for this (and
subsequent) chunks.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

-- 
    /kinkie