How do you write fewer lines of code?

[Dalek Dave]

There is no Spoon.

------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] Trolls[^]

[Mark_Wallace]

Including the title of your posting, you asked the same question three times. There's gotta be a moral in there somewhere.

I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!

[Mehdi Gholam]

While you were pondering the question me and OG were down at the pub, that's one way of writing less code. I think someone mentioned getting someone else to write the code is another option... But seriously, I believe you write less code by better design and better algorithms.

Its the man, not the machine - Chuck Yeager If at first you don't succeed... get a better publicist If the final destination is death, then we should enjoy every second of the journey.

[Paul M Watt]

I have started using Test Driven Development (TDD). I find that my class interfaces are much more usable, because I am using them while developing. The code is tested as I develop. I don't waste that extra time writing for features that I think I am going to use, I only write when I need. Including the test code, I find I write less code overall.

[swjam]

...or a Project Manager.

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[Bassam Abdul Baki]

True, but then call your app from a script thereby reducing it to just the call. :) There's no right answer for this. Generally speaking, we reduce, improve, and optimize functions since that is where "our" code usually is.

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[Bassam Abdul Baki]

Hey, if the grammar police can write up tickets in a programming website, then the IT police must have a wider jurisdiction. :)

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[Single Step Debugger]

Easy – you need to get smarter. This highly reduces LOC.

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[Andy Brummer]

Good design and reducing plumbing code more than anything. Nothing complicates an app and drives up the line count than fighting with an object model that doesn't match what you are trying to do with it. If you have to routinely make changes to multiple parts of your model that require complicated operations to connect, then you are going to write a bunch of extra code.

Curvature of the Mind now with 3D

[Judah Gabriel Himango]

I tend to collapse if/else statements. If there's just a single if/else, I'll use the (what's the name of this?) operator:

return foo ? "it was foo" : "it was not!";

For big if/elses, or switch statements, I use a custom extension method and type, loosely inspired by F#'s match expressions:

return answer
.Match(42, "It was 42!")
.Match(7, "Perfecttion!")
.Match(-1, () => throw new ArgumentException(...))
.DefaultTo("unknown!");

I find that cleaner and more concise than big if/else or switch blocks.

My Messianic Jewish blog: Kineti L'Tziyon My software blog: Debugger.Break() Judah Himango

[Marc Clifton]

Judah Himango wrote:

I use a custom extension method and type, inspired by F#'s match expressions:

Ooh, that's sweet! I remember encountering this a while ago, but I'm glad you reminded me. Marc

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[Andy Brummer]

That is sweet.

Curvature of the Mind now with 3D

[Chris Maunder]

Remove functionality that seemed a great idea at the time but simply results in an unused feature and a ton of code to support the plumbing.

cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

you can eliminate the stack and heap overhead with function inlining.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

This bizarre search for "less code" leads to the crap

not always. sometimes eliminating code also eliminates bugs and makes a product better

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

that's the whole point of this thread.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

[Judah Gabriel Himango]

Another way I write less code is by using the Reactive Extensions (Rx). Instead of events + properties + plumbing, you instead use System.IObservable<T> and Linq. So, instead of this:

// Old way of doing this
public class FileUpload : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string fileName;
private int progress;

public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public event EventHandler UploadCompleted;

public string FileName
{
    get { return fileName; }
    set
    {
        if (fileName != value)
        {
           fileName = value;
           RaisePropertyChanged("FileName");
        }
    }
}

public int Progress
{
   get { return this.progress; }
   set
   {
       if (this.progress != value)
       {
           this.progress = value;
           RaisePropertyChanged("Progress");

           if (value == 100)
           {
               if (UploadCompleted != null)
               {
                   UploadCompleted(this, EventArgs.Empty);
               }
           }
       }
   }
}

private void RaisePropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
   if (PropertyChanged != null)
   {
       PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
   }
}

}

Instead you can write this:

// New way, courtesy of Rx
public class FileUpload
{
public IObservable Progress { get; }
public IObservable FileName { get; }
}

Consumption:

// tell me when progress changes
fileUpload.Progress.Subscribe(p => Console.WriteLine("progress updated to " + p));

// tell me when upload is done
fileUpload.Progress.Where(p => p == 100).Subscribe(p => Console.WriteLine("finished!"));

My Messianic Jewish blog: Kineti L'Tziyon My software blog: Debugger.Break() Judah Himango

[TheGreatAndPowerfulOz]

you could have used a static class to much the same effect.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering” - Wernher von Braun

[Marc Clifton]

Judah Himango wrote:

Another way I write less code is by using the Reactive Extensions (Rx)

Ah, you remind me that I need to learn more about Rx. Thank you! Marc

My Blog

[Bassam Abdul Baki]

I know. No need to needle it into me.

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