Re: [Nolug] Language philosophy

Ron Johnson <ron.l.johnson@cox.net> writes:

>> If you have the capability to program quickly, but feel constrained
>> to program slowly to accommodate some unknown future reader, you are
>> only hurting yourself and whoever you are writing the code for.
>
> No, I am creating a net benefit. As soon as I had to read my own
> code, 6 months and 3 projects after I last thought about it, I cursed
> myself for being "clever".

I'll admit my limited experience here. I do have code sitting on
CPAN that I originally wrote several years ago. But, I can still
read it when I go back to it to fix a bug or add a feature.

I guess I just don't get what people are talking about when they say
they can't read code they wrote a few months ago. I don't recall
ever having this problem.

>> By the way, The best book for understanding Perl Idioms (what you call
>> "clever" programming) is Effective Perl Programming. At under 250
>> pages, it is relatively thin.
>>
>> Highly recommended.
>
> I'll check it out. Is it written for non-Perl-newbies?

If I recall correctly, yes. But I'm not positive. A co-worker has
the book. I'll try to look at his copy on Monday.

> It's the programmer's attitude, not the language, that makes
> something unmaintainable. However, any language (C is a prime
> example) that hands you tequila and a gun, and takes your shoes
> and pants off, should be used with circumspection.

Since we're talking about Perl here, does this mean that you think
Perl is as similar to C in this regard?

Does Python, for example, automagically figure out when you are trying
to use more memory than you have available?

> For example, we developed a customer service app. Purely record
> oriented, no "bit fiddling". But, some brainless manager said,
> "C is portable, use it!"

I love managers. They're so ... smart.

>> I wouldn't hire a newbie Python programmer to maintain my code, so
>> why should I feel sympathy for someone who hires an incompetent Perl
>> programmer?
>>
>> I know quite a few extremely competent Perl programmers.
>
> Ok, hire all Perl Wizards. Then, when you leave (for whatever
> reason), and, somehow, a competent non-Wizard somehow gets hired,
> he's stumped, and, under pressure to make the changes, does what
> looks right, and a subtle bug gets introduced

I guess its a good thing I'm in no position to hire anyone, eh?

Seriously, I didn't mean that you should only hire wizards. But,
anyone with a few years worth of Perl should be capable of
maintenance. They should also be capable of producing their own code.

Mark.
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Received on 07/13/03