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  3. Some things just shouldn't be allowed to compile...

Some things just shouldn't be allowed to compile...

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  • M Member 8075923

    I guess there’s no way to teach a complier to look for stupid?

    F Offline
    F Offline
    Florin Jurcovici 0
    wrote on last edited by
    #18

    Obviously not - stupidity is highly creative in how it manifests itself ;)

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • P patbob

      YvesDaoust wrote:

      As far as I know there is always one when using an Intel processor A comparison needs to be followed by a conditional branch

      You are incorrect. There's a compare, which sets flags, followed by a jump, which is the actual branch instruction and needs prediction. Here's some C# disassembly, Intel native will be similar:

              bool b = i1 < i2;
      

      00000071 mov eax,dword ptr [ebp-40h]
      00000074 cmp eax,dword ptr [ebp-44h]
      00000077 setl al
      0000007a movzx eax,al
      0000007d mov dword ptr [ebp-48h],eax

              bool c = true;
      

      00000080 mov eax,1
      00000085 and eax,0FFh
      0000008a mov dword ptr [ebp-4Ch],eax
      if (i1 > i2)
      0000008d mov eax,dword ptr [ebp-40h]
      00000090 cmp eax,dword ptr [ebp-44h]
      00000093 setle al
      00000096 movzx eax,al
      00000099 mov dword ptr [ebp-50h],eax
      0000009c cmp dword ptr [ebp-50h],0
      000000a0 jne 000000A9
      {
      000000a2 nop
      c = false;
      000000a3 xor edx,edx
      000000a5 mov dword ptr [ebp-4Ch],edx
      }
      000000a8 nop

      YvesDaoust wrote:

      The Intel has only conditional branch instructions, no conditional moves or conditional arithmetic. Nor have I ever seen the value of a condition flag being transferred to a register

      You need to go read the Intel assembly guide. Compares (and many other instructions) set flags bits in the flags register. The jump instructions base their decision on how those flags are set. Intel instruction set has been this way since the 8008, and probably the 4004 before that.

      We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.

      M Offline
      M Offline
      Mark H2
      wrote on last edited by
      #19

      patbob wrote:

      followed by a jump

      Ooooh, the Jump instruction. Otherwise known in the somewhat higher level languages as "Goto" which of course "real" programmers are not allowed to use but for some unknown reason a compiler is. :)

      If your neighbours don't listen to The Ramones, turn it up real loud so they can.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • 0 0bx
            c = True
            If \_start > \_end Then
                c = False
            End If
        
            c = True
            If \_end < \_start Then
                c = False
            End If
        
            c = True
            If Not \_start < \_end Then
                c = False
            End If
        
            c = True
            If Not \_end > \_start Then
                c = False
            End If
        
            c = False
            If \_start < \_end Then
                c = True
            End If
        
            c = False
            If \_end > \_start Then
                c = True
            End If
        
            c = False
            If Not \_start > \_end Then
                c = True
            End If
        
            c = False
            If Not \_end < \_start Then
                c = True
            End If
        

        .

        M Offline
        M Offline
        Mark H2
        wrote on last edited by
        #20

        I have a guy three doors away (thank god) that likes to put in his monthly reports to the big cheese how many lines of code this or that module/programme has, as though that actually means something. I wonder how many of those lines consist of this kind of thing? No, I'm not going to look.

        If your neighbours don't listen to The Ramones, turn it up real loud so they can.

        0 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • J Jecc

          I fully agree with you. In fact, I usually write code like this myself. But then how to explain those snippets which begin with c = False ? We need more context here. Also, c is a lousy variable name, unless the surrounding code makes its meaning clear.

          K Offline
          K Offline
          KP Lee
          wrote on last edited by
          #21

          Jecc wrote:

          how to explain those snippets which begin with c = False

          Well, when you start with the question "Do you want to continue?" and have a series of checks where any one of them being true means yes, it makes sense to initialize the answer to no.

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • 0 0bx
                c = True
                If \_start > \_end Then
                    c = False
                End If
            
                c = True
                If \_end < \_start Then
                    c = False
                End If
            
                c = True
                If Not \_start < \_end Then
                    c = False
                End If
            
                c = True
                If Not \_end > \_start Then
                    c = False
                End If
            
                c = False
                If \_start < \_end Then
                    c = True
                End If
            
                c = False
                If \_end > \_start Then
                    c = True
                End If
            
                c = False
                If Not \_start > \_end Then
                    c = True
                End If
            
                c = False
                If Not \_end < \_start Then
                    c = True
                End If
            

            .

            K Offline
            K Offline
            KP Lee
            wrote on last edited by
            #22

            If you have code that has the full series of statement snippets compiled together, I fully agree with you. If you are complaining about having so many ways to check for the same thing, I disagree with you. On a personal basis, some of those series of "saying almost the same thing" (When you start off as false and don't use Not logic = is false, all other cases, = is true.) aren't as readable as others, but also on a personal basis, I can choose the format that makes the most sense to me. Did you intend to say the same thing consistently and made a mistake?:

            0bx didn't write:

            c = False If _start <= _end Then c = True End If

            Or are you making the point that it is difficult to always say the same thing by intentionally including a mistake in your logic? What makes it even more fun is if you make the object nullable. I don't know the VB.NET format, but C# would be:

            ?int c;

            (Making coding more complex reduces the pool of people who can write code well. That improves your chances to shine or show you are a dunderhead. :laugh: )

            0 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • 0 0bx
                  c = True
                  If \_start > \_end Then
                      c = False
                  End If
              
                  c = True
                  If \_end < \_start Then
                      c = False
                  End If
              
                  c = True
                  If Not \_start < \_end Then
                      c = False
                  End If
              
                  c = True
                  If Not \_end > \_start Then
                      c = False
                  End If
              
                  c = False
                  If \_start < \_end Then
                      c = True
                  End If
              
                  c = False
                  If \_end > \_start Then
                      c = True
                  End If
              
                  c = False
                  If Not \_start > \_end Then
                      c = True
                  End If
              
                  c = False
                  If Not \_end < \_start Then
                      c = True
                  End If
              

              .

              K Offline
              K Offline
              KP Lee
              wrote on last edited by
              #23

              Sorry, I write a lot in SQL. Forgot that coding treats nulls consistently. I'm the dunderhead.

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • K KP Lee

                If you have code that has the full series of statement snippets compiled together, I fully agree with you. If you are complaining about having so many ways to check for the same thing, I disagree with you. On a personal basis, some of those series of "saying almost the same thing" (When you start off as false and don't use Not logic = is false, all other cases, = is true.) aren't as readable as others, but also on a personal basis, I can choose the format that makes the most sense to me. Did you intend to say the same thing consistently and made a mistake?:

                0bx didn't write:

                c = False If _start <= _end Then c = True End If

                Or are you making the point that it is difficult to always say the same thing by intentionally including a mistake in your logic? What makes it even more fun is if you make the object nullable. I don't know the VB.NET format, but C# would be:

                ?int c;

                (Making coding more complex reduces the pool of people who can write code well. That improves your chances to shine or show you are a dunderhead. :laugh: )

                0 Offline
                0 Offline
                0bx
                wrote on last edited by
                #24

                I'm not the kind of person who likes to complain about things, it was a digital poem; or perhaps an act of "trolling". As you so generously pointed out: "a < b" and "b >= a" are the same thing. Why would we use "<" at all? At least ">=" reminds you to think about limits like when "a == b", imo it's preferable to use "<=" instead of ">". Because "<" doesn't make that possibility go away, it just makes it more confusing.

                And Jesus said:

                'As The Lord tried to cast _start and _end as DateTime and saw that they aren't null

                Dim isValid As Boolean = false
                'Check if _end doesn't occur before _start
                If _start <= _end Then
                isValid = True
                else
                'TODO: dear collegues, please make the errormessages dynamic for different languages while I go on vacation
                lblError.txt = "Warning, your event may cause temporal paradoxes."
                EndIf

                Return isValid

                And say in this case the time also isn't allowed to be equal. Then this:

                Dim isValid As Boolean = false
                'Check if _end doesn't occur before _start
                If _start < _end Then
                isValid = True
                else

                lblError.txt = "There can be no energy transfer at an infantessimally small amount of time, this violates the laws of physics rendering this appointment highly dangerous; then again it could be that the event is so short that it's beyond the discreet boundaries of SQL server; but this possibility will be neglected because it makes the animation of the dancing animals on the agenda look weird."
                EndIf

                Would be preferable to this

                'Writing comments really helps to think about what you're doing
                If _end >= _start Then

                But in that case why not do this.

                'It's also nice for future you
                If Not _start >= _end Then

                .

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • M Mark H2

                  I have a guy three doors away (thank god) that likes to put in his monthly reports to the big cheese how many lines of code this or that module/programme has, as though that actually means something. I wonder how many of those lines consist of this kind of thing? No, I'm not going to look.

                  If your neighbours don't listen to The Ramones, turn it up real loud so they can.

                  0 Offline
                  0 Offline
                  0bx
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #25

                  At the end of the month, the big cheese only care about one line of code. The line that starts with a '$' and ends with a ',-'. ;)

                  .

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • 0 0bx
                        c = True
                        If \_start > \_end Then
                            c = False
                        End If
                    
                        c = True
                        If \_end < \_start Then
                            c = False
                        End If
                    
                        c = True
                        If Not \_start < \_end Then
                            c = False
                        End If
                    
                        c = True
                        If Not \_end > \_start Then
                            c = False
                        End If
                    
                        c = False
                        If \_start < \_end Then
                            c = True
                        End If
                    
                        c = False
                        If \_end > \_start Then
                            c = True
                        End If
                    
                        c = False
                        If Not \_start > \_end Then
                            c = True
                        End If
                    
                        c = False
                        If Not \_end < \_start Then
                            c = True
                        End If
                    

                    .

                    F Offline
                    F Offline
                    Fishman60
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #26

                    Not a professional programmer, just an amateur, so correct me if I'm out of line. I guess I'd have less problems understanding this if the following were done: 1) Add comments to the code. Would clear up a world of problems. 2) Why do you need to do all of these?

                    If _start > _end Then
                    If _end < _start Then
                    If Not _start < _end Then
                    If Not _end > _start Then

                    Aren't they all the exact same statement? 3) Assuming that being equal has the same meaning as one of the less than statments (there is no third option for the value of c) there should only be the need to write less than statements. 4) Wouldn't a Select Case (or Switch) block work based on the result of _start < _end (slightly more verbose than c = _start < _end, so maybe a little clearer)

                    Select Case _start < _end 'check that start is less than end
                    Case True
                    c = True 'OK to continue
                    Case False
                    c = False 'Not OK to continue
                    End Select

                    0 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • F Fishman60

                      Not a professional programmer, just an amateur, so correct me if I'm out of line. I guess I'd have less problems understanding this if the following were done: 1) Add comments to the code. Would clear up a world of problems. 2) Why do you need to do all of these?

                      If _start > _end Then
                      If _end < _start Then
                      If Not _start < _end Then
                      If Not _end > _start Then

                      Aren't they all the exact same statement? 3) Assuming that being equal has the same meaning as one of the less than statments (there is no third option for the value of c) there should only be the need to write less than statements. 4) Wouldn't a Select Case (or Switch) block work based on the result of _start < _end (slightly more verbose than c = _start < _end, so maybe a little clearer)

                      Select Case _start < _end 'check that start is less than end
                      Case True
                      c = True 'OK to continue
                      Case False
                      c = False 'Not OK to continue
                      End Select

                      0 Offline
                      0 Offline
                      0bx
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #27
                      1. Fully agree 2-3) "a < b" is the same as "b >= a" and "not a >=b "; I personally don't like the "<" or ">", because it leads to oversights imo. Other people seem to disagree; but well. I find inequalities mighty confusing; it's like by brain isn't made to handle them, especially when the complexity ramps up, you start to get lost pretty easily. 4) Selects are used when there value you are evaluating isn't a Boolean. So using a Select to evaluate a bool is a bit weird imo...

                      if (a == "yellow") {do this;}
                      else // a is green
                      { do that;}

                      This is the typical example of when you actually should use a select block (combined with an enum instead of a string); because there's always the possibility that there are more options, even if they aren't implemented right now.

                      .

                      F 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • 0 0bx
                        1. Fully agree 2-3) "a < b" is the same as "b >= a" and "not a >=b "; I personally don't like the "<" or ">", because it leads to oversights imo. Other people seem to disagree; but well. I find inequalities mighty confusing; it's like by brain isn't made to handle them, especially when the complexity ramps up, you start to get lost pretty easily. 4) Selects are used when there value you are evaluating isn't a Boolean. So using a Select to evaluate a bool is a bit weird imo...

                        if (a == "yellow") {do this;}
                        else // a is green
                        { do that;}

                        This is the typical example of when you actually should use a select block (combined with an enum instead of a string); because there's always the possibility that there are more options, even if they aren't implemented right now.

                        .

                        F Offline
                        F Offline
                        Fishman60
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #28

                        0bx wrote:

                        "a < b" is the same as "b >= a" and "not a >=b ";
                         
                        I personally don't like the "<" or ">", because it leads to oversights imo.
                        Other people seem to disagree; but well.
                         
                        I find inequalities mighty confusing; it's like by brain isn't made to handle them, especially when the complexity ramps up, you start to get lost pretty easily.

                        I disagree that a < b gives the same result as b >= a. Here is a truth table:

                        a b a < b b > a b>=a not(a>=b)
                        10 20 T T T T
                        20 10 F F F F
                        10 10 F F T F

                        Based on the results of the truth table, in my interpretation, a < b is the same as b > a so testing them both is pointless. Also, since b >= a is not the same as a < b the risk (as others have pointed out) is that you may not have assumed the correct resutl for a = b. Am I missing something?

                        0 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • Y YvesDaoust

                          Nonsense.bas(1) : error E3401: 'c' : can't guess the meaning

                          L Offline
                          L Offline
                          LaMorte
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #29

                          thumbsUp = StrToInt('Two');

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • F Fishman60

                            0bx wrote:

                            "a < b" is the same as "b >= a" and "not a >=b ";
                             
                            I personally don't like the "<" or ">", because it leads to oversights imo.
                            Other people seem to disagree; but well.
                             
                            I find inequalities mighty confusing; it's like by brain isn't made to handle them, especially when the complexity ramps up, you start to get lost pretty easily.

                            I disagree that a < b gives the same result as b >= a. Here is a truth table:

                            a b a < b b > a b>=a not(a>=b)
                            10 20 T T T T
                            20 10 F F F F
                            10 10 F F T F

                            Based on the results of the truth table, in my interpretation, a < b is the same as b > a so testing them both is pointless. Also, since b >= a is not the same as a < b the risk (as others have pointed out) is that you may not have assumed the correct resutl for a = b. Am I missing something?

                            0 Offline
                            0 Offline
                            0bx
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #30

                            ha, oops... :rolleyes: I'm probably losing my marbles.

                            .

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