4 ms·

Array-oriented Programming

25 points by courtewing 15y ago

RodgerTheGreat 15y ago
At first I thought this article might be about array programming languages[1], but then I remembered today's date. If I understand correctly, this "technique" relies on the fact that PHP "arrays" are associative structures that might be called a map in conventional terminology- wouldn't "Map-oriented programming" make more sense? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Array_programming_language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Array_programming_language
- courtewing 15y ago
  You are correct. PHP arrays are actually just ordered maps, so "map-oriented programming" would be appropriate in PHP. However, there is no traditional array implementation in PHP, so calling it "map-oriented programming" within the context of PHP would be ambiguous. That all said, this "technique" could be used with a traditional array, in theory. The array in the example is fixed-length, and the keys themselves aren't really used at all.
EamonLeonard 15y ago
The best part was when the ninja's put candy in my pocket. "PHP has curly braces so that servers do not get confused".
dbh937 15y ago
I can't tell if this is an april fool's joke or not.
- dbh937 15y ago
  Never mind.
- EamonLeonard 15y ago
  slow start to the day?
  - mdwe 15y ago
    Considering these april fools jokes aren't supposed to be on the front page, this is forgivable
    - courtewing 15y ago
      Not that I have control over who upvotes this, but did I miss a memo or something?
      - mdwe 15y ago
        Actually, it looks like I misunderstood. "All April Fools' Day Jokes on the Web are Here (so they don't clutter HN)" was the top link when I opened HN today so I thought it was some official stance. It appears to just be another submission. My bad.
- EliRivers 15y ago
  It's no crazier than any other "paradigm-redefining" introspective code blog post we see the web churn out day after day.
  - courtewing 15y ago
    As the author of this blog post, let me just say that that is a sad (but not untrue) statement, my friend.

25 points by courtewing 15y ago

At first I thought this article might be about array programming languages[1], but then I remembered today's date. If I understand correctly, this "technique" relies on the fact that PHP "arrays" are associative structures that might be called a map in conventional terminology- wouldn't "Map-oriented programming" make more sense? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Array_programming_language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Array_programming_language

courtewing 15y ago
You are correct. PHP arrays are actually just ordered maps, so "map-oriented programming" would be appropriate in PHP. However, there is no traditional array implementation in PHP, so calling it "map-oriented programming" within the context of PHP would be ambiguous. That all said, this "technique" could be used with a traditional array, in theory. The array in the example is fixed-length, and the keys themselves aren't really used at all.

EamonLeonard 15y ago

The best part was when the ninja's put candy in my pocket. "PHP has curly braces so that servers do not get confused".

dbh937 15y ago

I can't tell if this is an april fool's joke or not.

dbh937 15y ago
Never mind.
EamonLeonard 15y ago
slow start to the day?
- mdwe 15y ago
  Considering these april fools jokes aren't supposed to be on the front page, this is forgivable
  - courtewing 15y ago
    Not that I have control over who upvotes this, but did I miss a memo or something?
    - mdwe 15y ago
      Actually, it looks like I misunderstood. "All April Fools' Day Jokes on the Web are Here (so they don't clutter HN)" was the top link when I opened HN today so I thought it was some official stance. It appears to just be another submission. My bad.
EliRivers 15y ago
It's no crazier than any other "paradigm-redefining" introspective code blog post we see the web churn out day after day.
- courtewing 15y ago
  As the author of this blog post, let me just say that that is a sad (but not untrue) statement, my friend.