I suspect that the programmer in question became enamored with his solution and did not consider whether or not it was warranted. This seems to be one of the hallmarks of clever code. The programmer spends much time and effort because he's found a cool new technique or because he's impressed with his solution.

I guess for me, the difference between clever code and code that uses advanced techniques is very much whether or not the problem requires the extra complexity.

G. Wade

In reply to Re^7: "Cleverness" from HOP by gwadej
in thread "Cleverness" from HOP by Wiggins

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