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Redundancy Peaking

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  • N Nagy Vilmos

    The PIN case is different. When a PIN is entered, it has to be authorised or declined. There is no exception in this. If the software has used an invalid key for the encryption then THAT could be an exception, in general in is treated as decline.


    Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

    N Offline
    N Offline
    Nikola Radosavljevic
    wrote on last edited by
    #15

    PIN is more similar to usual business cases than wings falling off a plane :) Anyhow, maybe I could make up a rule that would say: Do not use exception handling if result of failed operation is displayed to end user, and end user is expected to understand it (there can be exceptions to this :) )

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • L Lost User

      Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

              If myControl.Visible = True Then
                  'Some Code
              Else
                  'Some other code
              End If
      

      I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

      - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #16

      Well, I use to resolve this kind of problem with a Ctrl+H, replacing '= True Then' by 'Then', simply. I hate a dirty code....

      Ygor Lazaro

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • L Lost User

        Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

                If myControl.Visible = True Then
                    'Some Code
                Else
                    'Some other code
                End If
        

        I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

        - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

        V Offline
        V Offline
        V 0
        wrote on last edited by
        #17

        Don't know about VB, but in C++ a boolean can sometimes have other values then true / false that would go through if you did something like this:

        if(boolvalue){
        // code here
        }

        but would do it correctly when doing this:

        if(boolvalue == true){
        // code here
        }

        V.

        R 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • L Lost User

          Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

                  If myControl.Visible = True Then
                      'Some Code
                  Else
                      'Some other code
                  End If
          

          I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

          - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

          W Offline
          W Offline
          wbaxter37
          wrote on last edited by
          #18

          I confess that I tend to do this, but I do have a reason. I program in multiple languages. Not explicitly calling out an equality in a dynamic and loosely typed language like Ruby can give you unexpected results. A variable will evaluate to true if it is true or has an assigned value (even if it's an empty string). It will evaluate to false if it is false or nil. In the interest of clarity I tend to make logical tests explicit and let the compiler take care of things. Turbo C 1.5 optimized this way back when, so I'm sure VS2010 can handle it. There's no harm in being explicit in one's source code. It's like using "extra" parentheses. It doesn't matter to the tools, but it sure does make reading the code easier for us humans. Not to say i don't appreciate obfuscated C, it's just I do't want to have to modify it and make it work.

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          0
          • A Allan Thomas

            Unfortunately this is the biggest issue I have about vb. It's too easy to be deep in thought and literally code what you are thinking and make the code more annoying to read. i.e. If control x visible property is true then do this and this and this. I usually pick it up after I have written it and clean it up afterwards but sometimes I've come across code a few months later and go whoops. Hopefully the compiler is smart enough to fix the extra redundancy I've added so it doesn't effect performance.

            M Offline
            M Offline
            mdblack98
            wrote on last edited by
            #19

            And I ran this test once with "if mybool" and once with "if mybool = True". No difference in speed. 1st one showed 33 seconds, 2nd one showed 32 seconds.

            Module Module1

            Sub Main()
                Dim mytime As Date
                Dim mybool As Boolean
                Dim mydiff As TimeSpan
                Dim j As Double
                mytime = TimeOfDay()
                While mytime = TimeOfDay()
                End While
                mybool = True
                j = 0
                For i = 1 To 100000
                    For j = 1 To 100000
                        If mybool = True Then
                            j = j + 1
                        End If
                    Next
                Next
                mydiff = TimeOfDay() - mytime
                Console.WriteLine(mydiff)
                Console.ReadKey()
            End Sub
            

            End Module

            L J 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • V V 0

              Don't know about VB, but in C++ a boolean can sometimes have other values then true / false that would go through if you did something like this:

              if(boolvalue){
              // code here
              }

              but would do it correctly when doing this:

              if(boolvalue == true){
              // code here
              }

              V.

              R Offline
              R Offline
              Ralph Little
              wrote on last edited by
              #20

              Agreed. Anyway, writing

              if(boolvalue == true){
              // code here
              }

              is like saying "if boolvalue is true is true" :D

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • N Nikola Radosavljevic

                It may seem structurally sound, but it's a mistake to use exception handling for control flow. First, exceptions are exactly that. Cases which you do not expect should happen in normal workflow, exceptional situations which are caused by a failure in the system. They should not be used to control business logic. However, I am also tempted to use them in this way when I have more than 2 layers of abstraction between business logic decision, and handling of that decision. Second, it's big hit to performance. If this is not client side code, or a single occurrence during request processing, this can be real PITA when you come to a stage you need to optimize performance.

                Sander RosselS Offline
                Sander RosselS Offline
                Sander Rossel
                wrote on last edited by
                #21

                Completely agree with you there! If the wings fall of an airplane in flight then that would certainly raise an exception. However, the function Nagy made is a function that checks if the wings have fallen off. If someone would check something like that they are probably expecting that it could somehow have happened. The person checking it would probably want a true or false :D "Co-pilot to first pilot, the wings have fallen off!" "First pilot here, no sweat, we'll just use another plane for the coming flight" ;P

                It's an OO world.

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                • N Nikola Radosavljevic

                  I actually sometimes check is some condition is not fulfilled even when there is else branch. This I do in cases when one case of if/else block is expected behavior and in other one i do simple logging/recovery or similar thing. Specifically, I do this when one block is short (less than 5 lines), and put that block in front. In that case, code is more clean to my eye because else block is very near to if block. This is very helpful to me when i have several nested if/else structures. Would that make sense to anyone but me?

                  Sander RosselS Offline
                  Sander RosselS Offline
                  Sander Rossel
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #22

                  Actually that does make sense to me. I just don't usually have a lot of code in If blocks. If there is a lot of code I try to put it in different Methods so the If blocks always fit on my screen completely :) Nested If's are a pain... If there are to many I once again make seperate Methods. If there are three, maybe four (absolute max) I try to keep the If's seperated by some comments that explain why there are so many if's and an empty line. Keeps code quite readable to my eyes :)

                  It's an OO world.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • L Lost User

                    Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

                            If myControl.Visible = True Then
                                'Some Code
                            Else
                                'Some other code
                            End If
                    

                    I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

                    - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

                    P Offline
                    P Offline
                    PaulLinton
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #23

                    In c# I prefer

                    // to be sure, to be sure, to be sure
                    if (((boolVar == true) == true) == true) {

                    I find that three levels is optimum

                    L 2 Replies Last reply
                    0
                    • L Lost User

                      Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

                              If myControl.Visible = True Then
                                  'Some Code
                              Else
                                  'Some other code
                              End If
                      

                      I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

                      - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

                      R Offline
                      R Offline
                      R Erasmus
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #24

                      I feel that it makes reading a program easier when actually seeing the True as well as it's less error prone: MY ARGUMENT TO MY 2 POINTS: 1) VISIBLE Using the statement:

                      If (myControl.Visible = True) Then

                      I immediatly know that Visible is a boolean. 2) LESS ERROR PRONE What happens if Visible is actually an unsigned int which can range from 0 to 10 but the programmer forgot to program it correctly? E.g. HE WROTE:

                      If (myControl.Visible)

                      INSTEAD OF:

                      If (myControl.Visible < 10)

                      This type of bug would be difficult to find if you write your boolean if statements without the True, however easy if not.

                      "Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence." << please vote!! >>

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                      0
                      • P PaulLinton

                        In c# I prefer

                        // to be sure, to be sure, to be sure
                        if (((boolVar == true) == true) == true) {

                        I find that three levels is optimum

                        L Offline
                        L Offline
                        Lost User
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #25

                        Using the same technique thrice may not guarantee correct results. So you may want to try:

                        if (((boolVar.ToString().ToLower().Equals("true") == true) == (true == true)) {
                        }

                        :)

                        "Don't confuse experts with facts" - Eric_V

                        B 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • M mdblack98

                          And I ran this test once with "if mybool" and once with "if mybool = True". No difference in speed. 1st one showed 33 seconds, 2nd one showed 32 seconds.

                          Module Module1

                          Sub Main()
                              Dim mytime As Date
                              Dim mybool As Boolean
                              Dim mydiff As TimeSpan
                              Dim j As Double
                              mytime = TimeOfDay()
                              While mytime = TimeOfDay()
                              End While
                              mybool = True
                              j = 0
                              For i = 1 To 100000
                                  For j = 1 To 100000
                                      If mybool = True Then
                                          j = j + 1
                                      End If
                                  Next
                              Next
                              mydiff = TimeOfDay() - mytime
                              Console.WriteLine(mydiff)
                              Console.ReadKey()
                          End Sub
                          

                          End Module

                          L Offline
                          L Offline
                          Lost User
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #26

                          Had you taken a look at the disassembly, you would have discovered that the compiler generates exactly the same code in both cases. There is no real need for a test program.

                          "Dark the dark side is. Very dark..." - Yoda ---
                          "Shut up, Yoda, and just make yourself another toast." - Obi Wan Kenobi

                          M 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • L Lost User

                            Using the same technique thrice may not guarantee correct results. So you may want to try:

                            if (((boolVar.ToString().ToLower().Equals("true") == true) == (true == true)) {
                            }

                            :)

                            "Don't confuse experts with facts" - Eric_V

                            B Offline
                            B Offline
                            Bernhard Hiller
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #27

                            That won't work on a German system: boolVar.ToString evaluates to "Wahr" or "Falsch". Some time ago I posted a coding horror where just that happened by implicit conversion from bool to string.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • L Lost User

                              Had you taken a look at the disassembly, you would have discovered that the compiler generates exactly the same code in both cases. There is no real need for a test program.

                              "Dark the dark side is. Very dark..." - Yoda ---
                              "Shut up, Yoda, and just make yourself another toast." - Obi Wan Kenobi

                              M Offline
                              M Offline
                              mdblack98
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #28

                              Ummm...if you dissassemble something isn't there a program to disassemble? Ergo a test program? I was simply providing an example that proves that this is not redundant code at all. The disassembly does confirm it though so thanks for that observation.

                              L 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • M mdblack98

                                Ummm...if you dissassemble something isn't there a program to disassemble? Ergo a test program? I was simply providing an example that proves that this is not redundant code at all. The disassembly does confirm it though so thanks for that observation.

                                L Offline
                                L Offline
                                Lost User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #29

                                What I meant is, that when such a question arises, I simply write both lines in the application I'm working on and then look what I find in the disassembly. Why try to measure something that you can examine directly? As to the topic: I see that just as you do. It's not redundant and has no impact (in all languages I commonly use). A difference which makes no difference is no difference.

                                "Dark the dark side is. Very dark..." - Yoda ---
                                "Shut up, Yoda, and just make yourself another toast." - Obi Wan Kenobi

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • P PaulLinton

                                  In c# I prefer

                                  // to be sure, to be sure, to be sure
                                  if (((boolVar == true) == true) == true) {

                                  I find that three levels is optimum

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #30

                                  I prefer to define my own truth... cause ya never know. And make a recursive check because it might change at some point. Set a nice constant for how many times you should check it. And don't forget to constant your zero because it might change someday as well.

                                  const bool TRUE = true;
                                  const int ZERO = 0;
                                  bool TruthChecker(bool checkValue, int checkCount)
                                  {
                                  if(checkCount == ZERO)
                                  return (checkValue == TRUE);
                                  else
                                  return (checkValue == TruthChecker(checkValue, --checkCount));
                                  }

                                  With this defined we can now test ensure our boolean holds up!

                                  const int CHECK_TRUTH_COUNT = 42;
                                  ...
                                  if(TruthChecker(boolVar, CHECK_TRUTH_COUNT))
                                  {
                                  //Do some kewl stuff
                                  }

                                  Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                                  P 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • L Lost User

                                    Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

                                            If myControl.Visible = True Then
                                                'Some Code
                                            Else
                                                'Some other code
                                            End If
                                    

                                    I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

                                    - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

                                    V Offline
                                    V Offline
                                    Vladimir Svyatski
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #31

                                    I've seen similar stuff many, many, many times. I believe the author is paid not only for lines of code but for columns as well.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • L Lost User

                                      I prefer to define my own truth... cause ya never know. And make a recursive check because it might change at some point. Set a nice constant for how many times you should check it. And don't forget to constant your zero because it might change someday as well.

                                      const bool TRUE = true;
                                      const int ZERO = 0;
                                      bool TruthChecker(bool checkValue, int checkCount)
                                      {
                                      if(checkCount == ZERO)
                                      return (checkValue == TRUE);
                                      else
                                      return (checkValue == TruthChecker(checkValue, --checkCount));
                                      }

                                      With this defined we can now test ensure our boolean holds up!

                                      const int CHECK_TRUTH_COUNT = 42;
                                      ...
                                      if(TruthChecker(boolVar, CHECK_TRUTH_COUNT))
                                      {
                                      //Do some kewl stuff
                                      }

                                      Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.

                                      P Offline
                                      P Offline
                                      PaulLinton
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #32

                                      I hope this code didn't get in to production :laugh: because it doesn't work. Try

                                      TruthChecker(false, 1)

                                      I think this will return true :(

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • L Lost User

                                        Why? Why? Why check an already boolean result? Noticed this redundancy in many parts of an ill written app.

                                                If myControl.Visible = True Then
                                                    'Some Code
                                                Else
                                                    'Some other code
                                                End If
                                        

                                        I don't know why, it's just plain turn off to see this redundancy!

                                        - Just that something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. Respect developers and their efforts! Jk

                                        B Offline
                                        B Offline
                                        Bert Mitton
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #33

                                        I hate to say it, but I do that boolean crap in if...thens. It's the only way some people can understand the code when they read it.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • M mdblack98

                                          And I ran this test once with "if mybool" and once with "if mybool = True". No difference in speed. 1st one showed 33 seconds, 2nd one showed 32 seconds.

                                          Module Module1

                                          Sub Main()
                                              Dim mytime As Date
                                              Dim mybool As Boolean
                                              Dim mydiff As TimeSpan
                                              Dim j As Double
                                              mytime = TimeOfDay()
                                              While mytime = TimeOfDay()
                                              End While
                                              mybool = True
                                              j = 0
                                              For i = 1 To 100000
                                                  For j = 1 To 100000
                                                      If mybool = True Then
                                                          j = j + 1
                                                      End If
                                                  Next
                                              Next
                                              mydiff = TimeOfDay() - mytime
                                              Console.WriteLine(mydiff)
                                              Console.ReadKey()
                                          End Sub
                                          

                                          End Module

                                          J Offline
                                          J Offline
                                          jsc42
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #34

                                          mdblack98 wrote:

                                          Dim j As Double
                                          ...
                                          j = 0
                                          For j = 1 To 100000
                                          ...
                                          j = j + 1
                                          ...
                                          Next

                                          Ouch! * Declaring a control variable as a Double * Redundant initialisation of a variable immediately before using it as a control variable * Doing integer arithmetic on a Double (in the For and in the assignment statements) * Changing the control variable inside the loop * Writing a Hall Of Shame contender in response to a Hall Of Shame entry. Priceless!

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