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I love Ruby for this kind of stuff. You don't have to have arguments about which syntax you prefer, you can just use the one you prefer and let your coworkers u

• soiler 4y ago
  Hm, I have the exact opposite interpretation. This is exactly the kind of feature that leads to arguments. If `unless` didn't exist, what argument could people be having about using `if !`? In a shared codebase, I think there should be as few (equally effective) ways to express an idea as possible. (Obviously there can be more- and less-efficient ways to write a function; I'm referring only to style.) The more arbitrary choices people have, the more time is wasted on choosing one. If you're coding alone, that's fine - you just pick what you like, and spend as long as you like making that decision. But in a shared codebase, developers writing in different styles is a net negative on quality & readability. Spending time debating which style to prefer is a worthwhile, but unnecessary time sink. Automatically enforcing a pre-defined style is efficient and effective - that's why Prettier exists, is widely used, and has few configuration options.
  • aqme28 4y ago
    > In a shared codebase, I think there should be as few (equally effective) ways to express an idea as possible...The more arbitrary choices people have, the more time is wasted on choosing one. I highly disagree! In my experience, forcing arbitrary style leads to so much more time wasted as people debate exactly which styles to enforce. > But in a shared codebase, developers writing in different styles is a net negative on quality & readability. Spending time debating which style to prefer is a worthwhile, but unnecessary time sink I disagree with this too. I have never found this type of style to be something that actually impacts readability and quality. If you using `if !` and I using `unless` is the problem with the codebase, that's not so bad. I have to say, this is why I'm a huge fan of Python's black. It lets me write however I want, while you get to read my code in a consistent style.
    • soiler 4y ago
      Fair enough, I understand every team is different. > forcing arbitrary style leads to so much more time wasted as people debate exactly which styles to enforce If this is happening often, I would unambiguously call that a problem, though. It should only happen once (and then, when enough has changed in the frameworks, maybe once again). This is exactly the philosophy Prettier takes: it is purposely difficult to change. It works really well as it is, and keeping it constantly optimized for community preference would be an anti-pattern. > I disagree with this too. I have never found this type of style to be something that actually impacts readability and quality. If you using `if !` and I using `unless` is the problem with the codebase, that's not so bad. I more or less actually agree with you on this. Small stylistic differences are generally negligible. But variations add up, and some are more egregious than others. I consider this more of a guiding philosophy than a rule; `if!` vs `unless` on its own is not a real problem.