5 ms·

I think it was Bjarne Stroustrup who said something like - "don't be clever, be simple and obvious". ... still nice article... ;)

k__ 9y ago
Was he trying to be funny after he did c++?!
- krylon 9y ago
  It is possible to write simple and obvious code in C++. A lot of people just choose not to. ;-)
  - camus2 9y ago
    > It is possible to write simple and obvious code in C++. A lot of people just choose not to. ;-) You still need to be C++ fluent enough to be able to read other people's code. And it's not like everybody has the same definition of "simple and obvious".
    - coldtea 9y ago
      >And it's not like everybody has the same definition of "simple and obvious". No, but it's like we can expect of people to more or less agree on a definition of "simple and obvious" or else be outliers.
    - krylon 9y ago
      > And it's not like everybody has the same definition of "simple and obvious". That is a very good point. I had an interesting discussion with a Perl programmer once regarding the use of Perl's default variable $_ - to him, code that relied heavily on it was straightforward and readable. But to a newcomer, it can be very tricky to figure out what is going on. And even to an experienced Perl programmer, it can increase the mental overhead of parsing code significantly if s/he is not used to it.
  - dvddgld 9y ago
    True, though languages should be designed so that it is difficult to write obscure, tricky or otherwise unreadable code.
    - krylon 9y ago
      For better or worse, languages that put am emphasis on readable code tend to remain not-so-popular. Python is an example, but Ada or Pascal are relatively unpopular these days. But that is one thing I like about Go, because "idiomatic" Go code tends to be very straightforward and readable.
      - dvddgld 9y ago
        I mean C++ isn't going to disappear anytime too soon, but I like where we're headed with language design. Python isn't just popular, it's monumentally popular, and I think that's a great sign. In my eyes, Ada and Pascal aren't missed, precisely because there are better choices for new projects. I love what they've done with Go from my experience with it so far, they hit the target on a number of design fronts.
darthlord382 9y ago
Too bad he didn’t follow his own advise in design of C++ (at least the simple and obvious part)
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
edejong 9y ago
The competent programmer is fully aware of the strictly limited size of his own skull; therefore he approaches the programming task in full humility, and among other things he avoids clever tricks like the plague. Dijkstra (1972) The Humble Programmer (EWD340).

k__ 9y ago

Was he trying to be funny after he did c++?!

krylon 9y ago
It is possible to write simple and obvious code in C++. A lot of people just choose not to. ;-)
- camus2 9y ago
  > It is possible to write simple and obvious code in C++. A lot of people just choose not to. ;-) You still need to be C++ fluent enough to be able to read other people's code. And it's not like everybody has the same definition of "simple and obvious".
  - coldtea 9y ago
    >And it's not like everybody has the same definition of "simple and obvious". No, but it's like we can expect of people to more or less agree on a definition of "simple and obvious" or else be outliers.
  - krylon 9y ago
    > And it's not like everybody has the same definition of "simple and obvious". That is a very good point. I had an interesting discussion with a Perl programmer once regarding the use of Perl's default variable $_ - to him, code that relied heavily on it was straightforward and readable. But to a newcomer, it can be very tricky to figure out what is going on. And even to an experienced Perl programmer, it can increase the mental overhead of parsing code significantly if s/he is not used to it.
- dvddgld 9y ago
  True, though languages should be designed so that it is difficult to write obscure, tricky or otherwise unreadable code.
  - krylon 9y ago
    For better or worse, languages that put am emphasis on readable code tend to remain not-so-popular. Python is an example, but Ada or Pascal are relatively unpopular these days. But that is one thing I like about Go, because "idiomatic" Go code tends to be very straightforward and readable.
    - dvddgld 9y ago
      I mean C++ isn't going to disappear anytime too soon, but I like where we're headed with language design. Python isn't just popular, it's monumentally popular, and I think that's a great sign. In my eyes, Ada and Pascal aren't missed, precisely because there are better choices for new projects. I love what they've done with Go from my experience with it so far, they hit the target on a number of design fronts.

darthlord382 9y ago

Too bad he didn’t follow his own advise in design of C++ (at least the simple and obvious part)

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

edejong 9y ago

The competent programmer is fully aware of the strictly limited size of his own skull; therefore he approaches the programming task in full humility, and among other things he avoids clever tricks like the plague. Dijkstra (1972) The Humble Programmer (EWD340).