Re^5: Conditional Elimination

The magic works by assigning a name to the operation - names are very powerful magic.

Personally, I find:

if ($zipcode == 12345 || $zipcode == 55344 || $zipcode == ...) {
  code
}
[download]

much harder to understand than

if (is_valid_zipcode($zipcode)) {
  code
}
[download]

specially when it comes to better understanding of what the code is meant to accomplish.

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Re^6: Conditional Elimination by JavaFan (Canon) on Aug 31, 2011 at 12:13 UTC
Hmmm, the former clearer says to me "ah, he's checking whether the zip code is one of a given list", while the latter tells me he's validating a zipcode. I'd would find it surprising if `is_valid_zipcode(10012)` returns false, while it doesn't surprise me in your first snippet. Names are so much easier to get wrong, or be ambiguous.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^7: Conditional Elimination by shawnhcorey (Friar) on Aug 31, 2011 at 14:24 UTC
Names are so much easier to get wrong, or be ambiguous. Yes, getting programmers to use meaningful names rather than the first that pops into their head is a problem.	[reply]