3 ms·

> it was just done quickly Ugly code can be written slowly too...

• mbrubeck 17y ago
  Yes, definitely. If this was anything like my own experience writing parsers both the wrong way and the right way, the original programmer probably could have saved time by going out and reading a couple of textbook chapters, doing the homework problems, and reading the Bison or ANTLR manuals, and then doing it properly. Implementing a parser without knowing what you're doing is not quick or easy.
  • jerf 17y ago
    Worse than that, it is a frustrating, Sisyphean endeavor, always taking one step forward and two steps back once you get past a certain point. It is not a task I'd wish on anyone. It's a lot like writing a multithreaded program when you don't have a clue; you get a few quick things working and then descend into an endless hell of fixing one bug and causing two others, forever.