Re: [PATCH RFC 0/5] Patches to avoid reporting conversion changes.

From: Jari Aalto <jari.aalto@cante.net>
Date: Apr 17, 2010, 19:32 UTC
Message-ID: <87eiid6fjc.fsf@jondo.cante.net>
In-Reply-To: <86ljcnclvu.fsf@red.stonehenge.com>

merlyn@stonehenge.com (Randal L. Schwartz) writes:

Show 5 quoted lines

>>>>>> "Jari" == Jari Aalto <jari.aalto@cante.net> writes:
>
> Jari>     if ( $OS_ERROR ) ...
>
> Right, but without looking, is it $OS_ERROR or $OSERROR?

I don't see any difference, because that variable is always within the close context of previous statements. The reader would consult the lines above.

And if that's the only problem, which I don't believe it is for a Perl programmer, there is also $ERRNO.

> You're trading a list of single punctuation characters, pretty
> unambiguous, for things that could have been named a dozen different
> ways each.

A typical Perl program used those "single puctuation variables" and they are not immediately understandable; unless you know them by heart.

They are cute for one-liners, but not suitable for maintainable programs, edited by N developers, with different backgrounds and skills.

To make the code actually readable by anyone, not just by a Perl coder breathing the language 24/7, is what software, any software would be better off.

It's akin to the opening "magic values" in a program:

    100
    130
    140

Good programmers write instead (pseudo code):

    ERROR_MINOR = 100
    ...

    return ERROR_MINOR

Jari