Re-using variables can be dangerous

kmoorevs

Re-using variables can be dangerous. The following code had me baffled for hours. This code queries a dozen different XML files on the server, builds a response, and serves it to different dashboards.

        fileName = "FinSummaryByMonth";
        xmlFile = Server.MapPath("Data/" + DistrictNumber + "/" + sYearFolder + "/" + fileName + ".xml");
        srcDoc = XDocument.Load(xmlFile);
        //linq to xml process 1...should build 13 rows with 12 elements...OK
        //append to the buildDoc and move on to the next section

        fileName = "MealSummaryByMonth";
        srcDoc = XDocument.Load(xmlFile);
        //linq to xml process 1...should build 11 rows with 12 elements...WRONG! returning 13 rows!

Being a newbie to linq, I had assumed the mistake was in the query. 2 hours later, looking at the output, I realize that the rows in the problem section were identical to the rows in the previous section nevermind that the results should have been ints. :doh:

"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse

PIEBALDconsult

"Omit needless local variables." -- Strunk... had he taught programming Or, better, write a method and eliminate the repetitive code.

You'll never get very far if all you do is follow instructions.

robocodeboy

PIEBALDconsult wrote:

Or, better, write a method and eliminate the repetitive code.

This.

kmoorevs

Good advice! I suppose I could stick the file names into a list with any parameters distinct to each query and return a loaded XDocument or Array. Maybe in the next version! Thanks! :)

"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse