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Incomprehensible style is a nice word for sloppy. The effect of either is exactly the same, one just implies respect. If you say code that is minimalistic to th
by valarauca1 12y ago
Incomprehensible style is a nice word for sloppy. The effect of either is exactly the same, one just implies respect. If you say code that is minimalistic to the point its incomprehensible is better then code so sloppy its incomprehensible, I don't see how one is any better then the other from a maintenance prospective (the former would be better in run time likely).
- tptacek 12y agoOlder versions of the news.arc code have been published. It isn't "incomprehensible"; in fact, it's atypically easy to follow, because it's (perhaps unwisely) built around a continuation passing abstraction he designed for the purpose of simplifying the code. Maybe you'd have an easier time making whatever point you're trying to make about HN's code by pointing to some spot in the news.arc code that you had trouble understanding. There are solid criticisms you can make of HN (I could probably come up with 4 or 5), but the fact that you opened with "sloppy" and "incomprehensible" makes me wonder how closely you actually read the code.
- dang 12y ago"Incomprehensible style is a nice word for sloppy." Then since it isn't sloppy, you won't be surprised to learn that it isn't incomprehensible either. :) In software (as probably in everything) people tend to think that non-standard and uncommon things must be worse. It's in the DNA of Hacker News not to think that way, and to me that is one of its most precious qualities. The HN code is somehow symbolic of all this, whether it's to one's personal taste or not. So yay the HN code!