posted in Technology
Name before type: why 'age int' is better than 'int age'
benhoyt.com/writings/name-before-type/benhoyt.comName before type: why 'age int' is better than 'int age'A variable's name is more important than its type, so the name should be more prominent and come first in declarations.
Replying to @lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.com
This doesn’t matter so so much that I don’t even have the words for it
The word is bikeshedding.
Replying to @sik0fewl@piefed.ca
bikeshedding: Futile expenditure of time and energy in discussion of marginal technical issues.
Not a term I was aware of. Thanks!
Replying to @sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
There was a pub in my town called the Bike Shed. I spent many happy hours there in futile discussions of marginal technical issues.
Alas, they’re now gone, I no longer drink alcohol, and the people I bikeshedded with have either died or moved away. I still occasionally shave a yak at work, though. Sometimes doing so is a necessary evil.
Replying to @sik0fewl@piefed.ca
I can never remember which one’s bikeshedding and which one is yak shaving… but yeah!
Replying to @sik0fewl@piefed.ca
It’s only bike shedding if the people arguing over it don’t know enough about the topic to actually make cohesive arguments.
Things like how we name things and the grammar we use are quite important in cognitive psychology. And we can take advantage of research into cognitive psychology to better improve how we write software.