Re:Rob Pike's Rules of Programming (1989)
by rdiddly on Saturday September 16, 2017 @07:34PM
(#15267343)
Simplicity is great when it's not borne of ignorance and when it doesn't over-simplify. Some things are unavoidably complex. Even the word "simple" is complex, and has many meanings. What if simple is defined as...
- relies on simple "Programming 101" concepts
- doesn't require using or learning a framework or library
- corollary to above, doesn't require ascertaining that said framework or library implements a .Get() method
- doesn't rely on anyone else's code and has no dependencies or references
- doesn't require understanding ancillary concepts that might be present such as hash tables
Then writing the loop is "simpler." To answer your original question.
And just to turn things completely topsy-turvy, how about your .Get() method. If it's implemented the way such things are usually implemented, that means it uses hash tables and is very efficient. But that means it's a premature optimization, right, and therefore the devil? (Well we haven't defined "premature" either.)
The real answer is to think for yourself like a grown-up and don't rely on dogma. Every situation is different; tackle every problem by optimizing for what's important in that specific problem, using whatever resources and minding whatever constraints apply to that specific problem.
- relies on simple "Programming 101" concepts
- doesn't require using or learning a framework or library
- corollary to above, doesn't require ascertaining that said framework or library implements a .Get() method
- doesn't rely on anyone else's code and has no dependencies or references
- doesn't require understanding ancillary concepts that might be present such as hash tables
Then writing the loop is "simpler." To answer your original question.
And just to turn things completely topsy-turvy, how about your .Get() method. If it's implemented the way such things are usually implemented, that means it uses hash tables and is very efficient. But that means it's a premature optimization, right, and therefore the devil? (Well we haven't defined "premature" either.)
The real answer is to think for yourself like a grown-up and don't rely on dogma. Every situation is different; tackle every problem by optimizing for what's important in that specific problem, using whatever resources and minding whatever constraints apply to that specific problem.