True, but maintenance gets hard when they aren't evocative. | [reply] |
but maintenance gets hard when they aren't evocative.
Not so.
Did you ever see music annotated with: "This_is_the_second_demi_semi_quavar_in_the_third_bar_of_fifth_stanza" (*).
Or a resistor on a circuit diagram annotated: "This_is_the_470_ohmm_resistor_that_impedance_matches_the_output_of_the_third_stage_amplification_to_the_fourth_stage_feed_back_loop". (**)
(*)I've no idea if that makes sense, but a musician would.
(**)Ditto; but an electronics engineer would.
Short variable names in context are just as clear to the maintanence programmer, and often more so, than long, overly descriptive ones--if the programmer has familiarised themselves with the purpose of the routine of which they are a part.
And if he hasn't, he should not be maintaining the code.
Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
| [reply] |