Yes! It side-steps domain knowledge. Lets expand on this point.

Consider this code:

  if ($a->is_xxx_yyy && $b < PPP_QQQ) { ... }
[download]

An experienced Perl coder would instantly, subconciously, grok the control-flow within it. Part of this understanding relies on convention, so could be subverted, but just look at the amount of information/expectation we have:

• $a is an object (the -> operator)
• is_xxx_yyy is a predicate (starts with word "is")
• is_xxx_yyy has no side effects (because its a predicate)
• If is_xxx_yyy is false, then $b is irrelevant (&& short-circuits)
• PPP_QQQ is a constant (upper-case)
• PPP_QQQ is numeric (the numeric comparison)
• $b is numeric (ditto)
• The rhs has a single boundary (the inequality).

So we'd know that there are 3 paths through the control logic of the if statement, and be able to see how they interact. Bad coders could subvert my expectations (e.g. they could add side-effects to the predicate): but "hard cases make bad law".

Compare this with an abstracted function call:

  if (xxx_yyy_ppp_qqq($a,$b))
[download]

The perl-brain gleams no information from this. Understanding it relies entirely on the quality of the name of the identifier. And we all know how hard it is to create a really good identifier name.

--Dave

---

---

Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!

Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.

Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.

Please read these before you post! —

• How do I compose an effective node title?
• How do I post a question effectively?
• Markup in the Monastery

Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:

a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr

You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)

	For:		Use:
	&		&
	<		&lt;
	>		&gt;
	[		&#91;
	]		&#93;

Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?

See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.