2 ms·

The problem is that in any existing codebase that is large enough you'll have such a plethora of different things that are used that it doesn't really matter th

by ygra 12y ago

The problem is that in any existing codebase that is large enough you'll have such a plethora of different things that are used that it doesn't really matter that I don't use things I don't understand or know yet. I still encounter them when reading code and have to understand them then. At least for me who stumbled into a semi-ancient C++ codebase two years ago (and having known almost nothing about the language before) that was a major impediment in picking up how the language should or might be used properly.

mgkimsal 12y ago
Good point, and was most recently used in the PHP community with the introduction of 'goto' about 5 years ago. "If you don't like it, don't use it" is pretty naive, because more often than not, I'm not using my own code, but someone else's (via inherited code, libraries, etc). Code is written once and maintained for years. I've noticed a trend over the years whereby certain types of developers (ab)use new features in a language when first introduced, then move on to other projects, leaving their "my first time with feature X" code behind for someone else to deal with for years to come. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's a nightmare. The GOTO thing in PHP has almost been a non-issue all around, but highlighted the "don't use it if you don't like it" argument's flaws.
72deluxe 12y ago
Stumbling into ancient codebases is always an impediment to understanding the language properly. Like reading C++ from before dynamic_cast was available, and spotting macros to do the same thing littered around MFC code. I also find that the ancient developer's design style and implementation left a lot to be desired, and if someone came across that as an introduction to a language, I think they would have hated the language too. That's why we should always write beautiful code and occasionally throw in obscure language features to force them to learn them :-)

by ygra 12y ago

mgkimsal 12y ago

Good point, and was most recently used in the PHP community with the introduction of 'goto' about 5 years ago. "If you don't like it, don't use it" is pretty naive, because more often than not, I'm not using my own code, but someone else's (via inherited code, libraries, etc). Code is written once and maintained for years. I've noticed a trend over the years whereby certain types of developers (ab)use new features in a language when first introduced, then move on to other projects, leaving their "my first time with feature X" code behind for someone else to deal with for years to come. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's a nightmare. The GOTO thing in PHP has almost been a non-issue all around, but highlighted the "don't use it if you don't like it" argument's flaws.

72deluxe 12y ago

Stumbling into ancient codebases is always an impediment to understanding the language properly. Like reading C++ from before dynamic_cast was available, and spotting macros to do the same thing littered around MFC code. I also find that the ancient developer's design style and implementation left a lot to be desired, and if someone came across that as an introduction to a language, I think they would have hated the language too. That's why we should always write beautiful code and occasionally throw in obscure language features to force them to learn them :-)