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I am firmly against the suggested changes. I love grepping through code too (often using -A -B -C), but I also like browsing the code, with tools where you can

I am firmly against the suggested changes. I love grepping through code too (often using -A -B -C), but I also like browsing the code, with tools where you can just click on a function and see its definition. However, changing how the code should be written so that grepping becomes easier is optimizing for the wrong target. It is much more important that the code is easily readable and maintainable. In addition, some tools are designed explicitly for grepping through code (from the top of my head ack is an example). If grep doesn't work, one should try a more sophisticated tool instead of using different coding styles.

gregjor 2y ago
Nothing the author wrote would necessarily make code harder to read or maintain. Consistent naming of the same thing throughout, not constructing variables or table names dynamically, etc. benefit both readers/maintainers and searching. I understood “grepping” to mean ripgrep (rg) or ack, not just plain grep. I think programmers who use command line tools or vim know about those. VSCode uses rg.
lucideer 2y ago
Greppability is really a proxy metric here - these changes all have other benefits even if you never grep (mostly readability tbh). const getTableName = (addressType: 'shipping' | 'billing') => { return `${addressType}_addresses` } This is a simplified example but in a longer function, readability of the `return` lines would be improved as the reader wouldn't have to reference the union type (which may or may not be defined in the signature). The rewrite is also safer as it errors out if a runtime `addressType` value doesn't match the union type (above code would not throw an error, just return an indeterminate value which would cause undefined behaviour). "Flat is better than nested" also greatly improves readability in both examples: either reading the i18n line, or reading the classname at definition / call will be more readable when the name contains full context of function.
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gregjor 2y ago

Nothing the author wrote would necessarily make code harder to read or maintain. Consistent naming of the same thing throughout, not constructing variables or table names dynamically, etc. benefit both readers/maintainers and searching. I understood “grepping” to mean ripgrep (rg) or ack, not just plain grep. I think programmers who use command line tools or vim know about those. VSCode uses rg.

lucideer 2y ago

Greppability is really a proxy metric here - these changes all have other benefits even if you never grep (mostly readability tbh). const getTableName = (addressType: 'shipping' | 'billing') => { return `${addressType}_addresses` } This is a simplified example but in a longer function, readability of the `return` lines would be improved as the reader wouldn't have to reference the union type (which may or may not be defined in the signature). The rewrite is also safer as it errors out if a runtime `addressType` value doesn't match the union type (above code would not throw an error, just return an indeterminate value which would cause undefined behaviour). "Flat is better than nested" also greatly improves readability in both examples: either reading the i18n line, or reading the classname at definition / call will be more readable when the name contains full context of function.

deleted 2y ago
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