I think one of the most important concepts to take from programming is replacing abstract code with a function name that describe the work it is supposed to do. For example, I came across this code,

$fee = ($tfee / 100 + $sfee/100 + 0.0000001) * 100
$mfee = 200 if ($fee >= 100);

$fee = $mfee if $mfee;

[download]

I don't even know what this does or why it is doing it. If they had done something like this, I would have a basic understanding of the what they are trying to accomplish.

$fee = determine_maximum_fee();

sub determine_maximum_fee {
  $fee = ($tfee / 100 + $sfee/100 + 0.0000001) * 100
  $mfee = 200 if ($fee >= 100);

  $fee = $mfee if $mfee;
  return $fee;
}

[download]

To me, the difference between a good developer and a bad developer is being able to break code into functions that explain what the program is supposed to be doing. Something most beginning programmers do not understand.

Update: Changed sub determine_total_fee to sub determine_maximum_fee(), thanks to the Anonymous Monk for pointing out the error

In reply to Re: What is code readability? by Herkum
in thread What is code readability? by brian_d_foy

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • 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! —
  • 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:
    & &amp;
    < &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.