[jens]

Hi!

From another thread I was introduced to the concept of "metric" which I interpret like "that which you find enjoyable to find in what you do".

I started to think of what my metric is pertaining to programming.

Since many years I've had a note on a postit that I rewrite and put besides my screen at each place I work. It's in Swedish since I am but it reads something like: "Don't be clever, be obvious." or maybe "Don't be clever, be clear.". I've been working a lot on old Pascal systems where 20+ consultants have been working for 15+ years and clarity is the treat that I've come to appreciate most. As a beginner it made me happy since I could make myself useful. As years went by striving for clarity made it easier for me to introduce new consultants to the (huge) system.

Now days I'm learning OO and .NET and my metric is becoming more complex. I find myself striving to be clear - of course - but also to write "elegant" code. Well, "elegant" might not really describe what I mean but I don't really know how to put it. I will try...

To me elegant code is clear code, clearly stating what is what and what parts are supposed to do. Elegant code is simple code, it uses the simplest concepts possible even at the cost of minor impact on performance. Elegant code reads like a story, it is distinctly broken down into easily understandable pieces - like paragraphs in a good book - that tell the story. Elegant code is stringent without being terse. Elegant code is to programming what poetry is to a language.

I think my metric is elegance, as described above.

What is yours?

Regards
Jens

This post has been edited by jens: 13 September 2010 - 01:22 PM

[tlhIn`toq]

I think my metric is 1000 somethings equals a kilosomething.
1/100th of a thingie is a centithingie
1/1000th of a widget is a milliwidget

[Sergio Tapia]

lol @ imperial system. Metric all the way.


On-topic: Jens I agree with you; the more simple and straightforward the code is, the better I hold it in regard. Simple code is great code.

[Craig328]

My metric is my disdain for people who use cliches or business jargon. I have a host of metric'd words/phrases that grind me like a stucco bathtub:

• out of pocket
  
• leverage (as a verb)
  
• game changer
  
• disconnect (as a noun)
  
• bleeding edge
  
• nimble (easily swapped with "robust")
  
• Prairie dogging (I have a special hate for that one)
  
• All-hands (do this look like the Navy to you?)
  
• Best in breed
  
• Metric

Sorry...I get carried away sometimes with that. I'm guessing the adoption of the goofily useless into vocabularies instead of simply speaking English must be a recent paradigm shift, huh?

[tlhIn`toq]

Craig328, on 14 September 2010 - 10:56 AM, said:

I'm guessing the adoption of the goofily useless into vocabularies instead of simply speaking English must be a recent paradigm shift, huh?

Not that recent the late great George Carlin did a comedy routine on it 20 years ago.

George Carlin said:

"Americans have trouble facing the truth. So they invent a kind of a soft language to protect themselves from it. . . .

"Sometime during my life toilet paper became bathroom tissue. . . .
Sneakers became running shoes.
False teeth became dental appliances.
Medicine became medication.
Information became directory assistance.
The dump became the landfill.
Car crashes became automobile accidents.
Partly cloudy became partly sunny.
Motels became motor lodges.
House trailers became mobile homes.
Used cars became previously owned transportation.
Room service became guest room dining.
Constipation became occasional irregularity. . . .

"The CIA doesn't kill anybody anymore. They neutralize people. Or they depopulate the area. The government doesn't lie. It engages in misinformation."
"When a company is 'levering up,' it often means, in regular language, that it is spending money it doesn’t have.
When it is 'right-sizing' or finding 'synergies,' it may well be firing people.
When it 'manages stakeholders,' it could be lobbying or bribing.
When you dial into 'customer care,' they care very little. But when they call you, even at dinnertime, then it’s a 'courtesy call.'"

"Poor people used to live in slums. Now 'the economically disadvantaged' occupy 'substandard housing' in the 'inner cities.' And a lot of them are broke. They don't have a 'negative cash flow.' They're broke!"

Any day now I expect to hear a rape victim referred to as an unwilling sperm recipient

If crime fighters fight crime, and fire fighters fight fire then what do freedom fighters fight, huh?

To that I add my favorite...

'Foreign invaders' became 'illegal immigrants'
we might as well call 'Drug Pushers' as 'unlicensed pharmaceutical technicians'

[Craig328]

tlhIn, on 14 September 2010 - 06:55 PM, said:

To that I add my favorite...

'Foreign invaders' became 'illegal immigrants'

I believe you meant to say "undocumented workers", amirite?

[modi123_1]

Craig328, on 14 September 2010 - 01:58 PM, said:

tlhIn, on 14 September 2010 - 06:55 PM, said:

To that I add my favorite...

'Foreign invaders' became 'illegal immigrants'

I believe you meant to say "undocumented workers", amirite?

I think you both mean to say "gardener" and "roofer"... am-i-rite?

[moopet]

I like to write code that when printed out looks like ascii art of naked ladies. My metric is basically cup size.

[Craig328]

modi123_1, on 14 September 2010 - 07:24 PM, said:

Craig328, on 14 September 2010 - 01:58 PM, said:

tlhIn, on 14 September 2010 - 06:55 PM, said:

To that I add my favorite...

'Foreign invaders' became 'illegal immigrants'

I believe you meant to say "undocumented workers", amirite?

I think you both mean to say "gardener" and "roofer"... am-i-rite?

You completely skipped "street performers".

[modi123_1]

Sorry we don't have street performers like those in my area.

[Salem_c]

Stuck for a phrase?

Try
http://www.dack.com/web/bullshit.html

[tlhIn`toq]

moopet, on 14 September 2010 - 12:26 PM, said:

I like to write code that when printed out looks like ascii art of naked ladies. My metric is basically cup size.

Now these are big cups

[biggerB]

Appearantly the metric system is too good for the US, Liberia and Burma..

This post has been edited by biggerB: 15 September 2010 - 05:54 AM