Hopefully without sounding like I am trying to boast or anything... I find the difference in readability and clarity dramatic between those two on one hand and my own deobfuscated, refactored and commented version of the OP. https://gist.github.com/ctsrc/fef3006e1d728bb7271cff0656eb02...
>// Probably plus means a locked door, and single quote means unlocked, or the other way around.
http://angband.oook.cz/stuff/manual.txt gives
' An open /broken door
+ A closed door
$ Gold or gems
A Angelic being
~ Light sources, Tools, Chests, Junk, Sticks, Skeletons, etc