Using IEnumerable nonsense for everything
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You've probably seen this style if you're done anything with C# after 2007 or so. someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).Foreach(e => Hell(e)); Instead of, you know, a plain old `for` loop with an `if` in it and so on. Or maybe `foreach` if you want to be fancy. So, now we have nearly a decade of experience with this, can we finally settle this question: Is this style cancer? I still think it is, and the retort "you just have to get used to it" isn't going to work any more. I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate". Yes, I've argued in the past that "clever code" isn't necessarily bad, and I'll keep saying that - there's a time and a place for it. But not if you're just trying to be cute. "Oh look at me, I put everything on one line, +1 nerd points for me" And this is even worse. It's not just cute with no benefits to compensate, it's cute and harder to read. Side question, why is this style popular?
Nope, I love that style of programming. It's SO much more readable than a foreach/for/while loop. It becomes immediately clear what the code does. There's some collection than we need to filter, transform and process whereas a loop is just a loop and might do all those things, but you won't know until you read through the loop, probably with a lot more code to keep the new lists and counters. I've found a lot more unreadable loops than LINQ queries. I have no idea why you'd find it unreadable, it reads almost like natural language... :~ Anyway, that style is necessary for LINQ to SQL/Entities (because loops can't build expression trees, convert that to SQL and be lazy evaluated). And if I had to choose between LINQ or plain old SQL I'd choose LINQ wherever possible. Only the .ForEach() is an odd one. It's defined on List and not as a LINQ extension method because ForEach, by definition, has side-effects and LINQ was designed keeping the functional paradigm in mind. I never use it.
Read my (free) ebook Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly. Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles here on CodeProject.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
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harold aptroot wrote:
Is this style cancer?
Not in my opinion. So what you'd have is (a bit cleaned up and assumptions made):
foreach(var stuff in someStuff)
{
if (stuff.c != "What")
{
Hell(stuff.d + "The");
}
}harold aptroot wrote:
Side question, why is this style popular?
I think, given the above example, the answer to that is obvious. But if you want it enumerated (hardeeharhar): 1) Easier to understand the logic 2) Simpler code
harold aptroot wrote:
I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate".
Sure, it can be abused, but for me, the Linq statement is so much more readable and understandable, in a very short order of time, than the longer format. Consider also some order advantages:
someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).OrderByDescending(q => q.CreateDate).Foreach(e => Hell(e));
What a PITA to have to create yet another list to reverse the order, and if you're abstaining from Linq altogether, you'd probably have to call a method to re-order the list on the desired field. More kruft, more complexity, more things to go wrong, more hard to understand imperative code. Furthermore, if you need to change the order, the above "long" code example breaks, because now you have to create a separate list of the filtered items so you can then sort that -- I assume you wouldn't want to sort the unfiltered list! So, add another item to the reason the "style cancer" is better: 3) more maintainable The style cancer, as you call it, is very much like functional programming, where each function results in an output that you pipe to the next function as its input. It's a much much cleaner style. Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
Exactly, well put :thumbsup:
Read my (free) ebook Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly. Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles here on CodeProject.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
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Definitely, cancer in my world. My goal is to build quality software that any level of developer can easily understand and change, if needed. Hey, I might die tomorrow. I don't run after the newest thing and don't try to be fancy or cute. It is probably popular because organizations, such as MSFT, bring out new features to get more people on board using their products. Young people just starting out have a difficult time getting established, plus they like to be fashionable; so they try to code fancy with all the new stuff, to make the big money.
The newest thing? It has been around for almost 10 years... :~ The paradigm itself, readable, no side-effects code making heavy use of lambda's (or anonymous function) has been around almost as long as programming. It's called functional programming.
Read my (free) ebook Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly. Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles here on CodeProject.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
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You've probably seen this style if you're done anything with C# after 2007 or so. someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).Foreach(e => Hell(e)); Instead of, you know, a plain old `for` loop with an `if` in it and so on. Or maybe `foreach` if you want to be fancy. So, now we have nearly a decade of experience with this, can we finally settle this question: Is this style cancer? I still think it is, and the retort "you just have to get used to it" isn't going to work any more. I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate". Yes, I've argued in the past that "clever code" isn't necessarily bad, and I'll keep saying that - there's a time and a place for it. But not if you're just trying to be cute. "Oh look at me, I put everything on one line, +1 nerd points for me" And this is even worse. It's not just cute with no benefits to compensate, it's cute and harder to read. Side question, why is this style popular?
harold aptroot wrote:
Is this style cancer?
No, next question.
harold aptroot wrote:
why is this style popular?
Because it's superior to the other style. (I'm not talking about runtime performance here)
GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes
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harold aptroot wrote:
Is this style cancer?
Yes. Many fans of that style don't realize how many times the data gets copied and iterated when they do nonsense like that. What really irks me is the near-constant use of
ToListorToArray; those are definitely cries for help. Even a simpleforeachshould generally be avoided in situations where aforwill perform at least as well.PIEBALDconsult wrote:
Many fans of that style don't realize how many times the data gets copied and iterated when they do nonsense like that.
Many fans do realize, we just don't care :) Would I use the style for loops that should be executed milion times a second, like image processing? No. Would I use it for everything else? Hell yes.
GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes
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The newest thing? It has been around for almost 10 years... :~ The paradigm itself, readable, no side-effects code making heavy use of lambda's (or anonymous function) has been around almost as long as programming. It's called functional programming.
Read my (free) ebook Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly. Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles here on CodeProject.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
Sander Rossel wrote:
The newest thing? It has been around for almost 10 years... :~
Exactly. I'm baffled by the people in the thread calling this style a new thing :wtf:
GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes
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That's really weird, I would have thought that anyone who likes speed tests to see how fast it really is, or at least looks up someone elses test.. and then they'd never use this style again.
Or you know, some one can be aware of the costs and still make decision to use this style? Almost as if speed is not top priority all the time. In parts that you really care about performance - write it in C++, slap managed wrapper around and call it a day. For everything else - enjoy modern1 features which make your life easier.
1 - if you can call something that is 10 years modern, in programming world.
GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes
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Or you know, some one can be aware of the costs and still make decision to use this style? Almost as if speed is not top priority all the time. In parts that you really care about performance - write it in C++, slap managed wrapper around and call it a day. For everything else - enjoy modern1 features which make your life easier.
1 - if you can call something that is 10 years modern, in programming world.
GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes
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Nope, I love that style of programming. It's SO much more readable than a foreach/for/while loop. It becomes immediately clear what the code does. There's some collection than we need to filter, transform and process whereas a loop is just a loop and might do all those things, but you won't know until you read through the loop, probably with a lot more code to keep the new lists and counters. I've found a lot more unreadable loops than LINQ queries. I have no idea why you'd find it unreadable, it reads almost like natural language... :~ Anyway, that style is necessary for LINQ to SQL/Entities (because loops can't build expression trees, convert that to SQL and be lazy evaluated). And if I had to choose between LINQ or plain old SQL I'd choose LINQ wherever possible. Only the .ForEach() is an odd one. It's defined on List and not as a LINQ extension method because ForEach, by definition, has side-effects and LINQ was designed keeping the functional paradigm in mind. I never use it.
Read my (free) ebook Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly. Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles here on CodeProject.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
Sander Rossel wrote:
I have no idea why you'd find it unreadable, it reads almost like natural language..
I think the problem is it's the wrong language for me. I don't think in terms of filters and transformations but this style forces me to.
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He could have meant it was faster to write than do the foreach and the if statements. Not that it runs faster. And I find it is much faster to write.
No, he meant to execute. I set up some experimental code that looped many times using the various methods like native code and linq and timed them. I also pointed out that the linq code was using anonymous methods and that they had overhead too.
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harold aptroot wrote:
Is this style cancer?
Not in my opinion. So what you'd have is (a bit cleaned up and assumptions made):
foreach(var stuff in someStuff)
{
if (stuff.c != "What")
{
Hell(stuff.d + "The");
}
}harold aptroot wrote:
Side question, why is this style popular?
I think, given the above example, the answer to that is obvious. But if you want it enumerated (hardeeharhar): 1) Easier to understand the logic 2) Simpler code
harold aptroot wrote:
I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate".
Sure, it can be abused, but for me, the Linq statement is so much more readable and understandable, in a very short order of time, than the longer format. Consider also some order advantages:
someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).OrderByDescending(q => q.CreateDate).Foreach(e => Hell(e));
What a PITA to have to create yet another list to reverse the order, and if you're abstaining from Linq altogether, you'd probably have to call a method to re-order the list on the desired field. More kruft, more complexity, more things to go wrong, more hard to understand imperative code. Furthermore, if you need to change the order, the above "long" code example breaks, because now you have to create a separate list of the filtered items so you can then sort that -- I assume you wouldn't want to sort the unfiltered list! So, add another item to the reason the "style cancer" is better: 3) more maintainable The style cancer, as you call it, is very much like functional programming, where each function results in an output that you pipe to the next function as its input. It's a much much cleaner style. Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
:thumbsup: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Marc Clifton wrote:
Which is why I have an extension method to overcome that shortcoming
You and Eric: Eric Lippert, 2009, op. cit. "A number of people have asked me why there is no Microsoft-provided “ForEach” sequence operator extension method. The List class has such a method already of course, but there’s no reason why such a method could not be created as an extension method for all sequences. It’s practically a one-liner:"
public static void ForEach(this IEnumerable sequence, Action action)
{
// argument null checking omitted
foreach(T item in sequence) action(item);
}For me, seems like something happened this year where suddenly I felt more comfortable (secure ?) using Linq goodness, and Yield Return, and IEnumerables of whatever, and writing extension methods that have a "socket" for an Action, or Func. I have seen some students bounce off those semantics/facilities, and some take to it like the proverbial "ducks to water." And (I hope you can still blush), you were an influence on me to "get more into" the method-chaining style, which I really like, now. Not that I am "catching up" with you (technically) in any way, though: occasionally I get a glimpse of your shadow going around a corner :omg: thanks for the mentories, Bill
«There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you don’t want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it.» Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008
BillWoodruff wrote:
I get a glimpse of your shadow going around a corner
You are generous as always! There are some corners I probably should not be followed:
public static bool If(this bool b, Action action)
public static void IfElse(this bool b, Action ifTrue, Action ifFalse)
etc. Let's just call those "experiments." :) Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
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harold aptroot wrote:
Is this style cancer?
Not in my opinion. So what you'd have is (a bit cleaned up and assumptions made):
foreach(var stuff in someStuff)
{
if (stuff.c != "What")
{
Hell(stuff.d + "The");
}
}harold aptroot wrote:
Side question, why is this style popular?
I think, given the above example, the answer to that is obvious. But if you want it enumerated (hardeeharhar): 1) Easier to understand the logic 2) Simpler code
harold aptroot wrote:
I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate".
Sure, it can be abused, but for me, the Linq statement is so much more readable and understandable, in a very short order of time, than the longer format. Consider also some order advantages:
someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).OrderByDescending(q => q.CreateDate).Foreach(e => Hell(e));
What a PITA to have to create yet another list to reverse the order, and if you're abstaining from Linq altogether, you'd probably have to call a method to re-order the list on the desired field. More kruft, more complexity, more things to go wrong, more hard to understand imperative code. Furthermore, if you need to change the order, the above "long" code example breaks, because now you have to create a separate list of the filtered items so you can then sort that -- I assume you wouldn't want to sort the unfiltered list! So, add another item to the reason the "style cancer" is better: 3) more maintainable The style cancer, as you call it, is very much like functional programming, where each function results in an output that you pipe to the next function as its input. It's a much much cleaner style. Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
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Ok OrderByDescending is convenient and having to retroactively put in sorting into normal code is annoying. That doesn't sell it for me. It's still "codegolfing but with longer method names" to me.
harold aptroot wrote:
"codegolfing"
Strange thing there, Harold; last Sunday's crossword puzzle had, as its long-tail-quote, something former US Prez Gerald Ford supposedly said: "I am not getting better playing golf because I hit fewer spectators" Have you ever looked at the XML the WCF serializer generates: object-name prefixes and suffixes can total twenty characters and more. It has become my habit to write long descriptive names in code, even though I am a solo act; part of that is because I want any students who may see the code to encounter such long mnemonic names ... and, partly because I am a speed touch typist, so the perceived "cost" of typing longer names is minimal ... and, of course, ReSharper and the VS editor make name completion a snaparoo. cheers, Bill
«There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you don’t want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it.» Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008
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PIEBALDconsult wrote:
Many fans of that style don't realize how many times the data gets copied and iterated when they do nonsense like that.
Many fans do realize, we just don't care :) Would I use the style for loops that should be executed milion times a second, like image processing? No. Would I use it for everything else? Hell yes.
GeoGame for Windows Phone | The Lounge Explained In 5 Minutes
Then you're not the problem.
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Ok OrderByDescending is convenient and having to retroactively put in sorting into normal code is annoying. That doesn't sell it for me. It's still "codegolfing but with longer method names" to me.
harold aptroot wrote:
t's still "codegolfing but with longer method names" to me.
Well, if readability, simplicity, maintainability, and a more functional programming syntax style don't sell you, then I don't know what will. :) And an FP style is often times better because those "long method names" are descriptive of what is happening, rather than having to look at code to figure out what is happened. Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
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You've probably seen this style if you're done anything with C# after 2007 or so. someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).Foreach(e => Hell(e)); Instead of, you know, a plain old `for` loop with an `if` in it and so on. Or maybe `foreach` if you want to be fancy. So, now we have nearly a decade of experience with this, can we finally settle this question: Is this style cancer? I still think it is, and the retort "you just have to get used to it" isn't going to work any more. I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate". Yes, I've argued in the past that "clever code" isn't necessarily bad, and I'll keep saying that - there's a time and a place for it. But not if you're just trying to be cute. "Oh look at me, I put everything on one line, +1 nerd points for me" And this is even worse. It's not just cute with no benefits to compensate, it's cute and harder to read. Side question, why is this style popular?
harold aptroot wrote:
Is this style cancer?
Absolutely! A page full of
IF...GOTOstatements looks far more organised! You don't even needELSEs, or any of that indentation that makes the page a mess!I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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harold aptroot wrote:
t's still "codegolfing but with longer method names" to me.
Well, if readability, simplicity, maintainability, and a more functional programming syntax style don't sell you, then I don't know what will. :) And an FP style is often times better because those "long method names" are descriptive of what is happening, rather than having to look at code to figure out what is happened. Marc
Imperative to Functional Programming Succinctly Contributors Wanted for Higher Order Programming Project! Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny
-
You've probably seen this style if you're done anything with C# after 2007 or so. someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).Foreach(e => Hell(e)); Instead of, you know, a plain old `for` loop with an `if` in it and so on. Or maybe `foreach` if you want to be fancy. So, now we have nearly a decade of experience with this, can we finally settle this question: Is this style cancer? I still think it is, and the retort "you just have to get used to it" isn't going to work any more. I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate". Yes, I've argued in the past that "clever code" isn't necessarily bad, and I'll keep saying that - there's a time and a place for it. But not if you're just trying to be cute. "Oh look at me, I put everything on one line, +1 nerd points for me" And this is even worse. It's not just cute with no benefits to compensate, it's cute and harder to read. Side question, why is this style popular?
When I started programming, "some" years ago, people where complaining about the performance of Object Oriented Programming (I won't speak of assembly vs. "high-level" language). A "few" years later, when .NET arrived, the same was said regarding the use of the Framework compared to native code. Nothing changes…
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You've probably seen this style if you're done anything with C# after 2007 or so. someStuff.Where(c => c != What).Select(d => d + The).Foreach(e => Hell(e)); Instead of, you know, a plain old `for` loop with an `if` in it and so on. Or maybe `foreach` if you want to be fancy. So, now we have nearly a decade of experience with this, can we finally settle this question: Is this style cancer? I still think it is, and the retort "you just have to get used to it" isn't going to work any more. I file this firmly under "stupid one-liner 'clever' code with no benefits to compensate". Yes, I've argued in the past that "clever code" isn't necessarily bad, and I'll keep saying that - there's a time and a place for it. But not if you're just trying to be cute. "Oh look at me, I put everything on one line, +1 nerd points for me" And this is even worse. It's not just cute with no benefits to compensate, it's cute and harder to read. Side question, why is this style popular?
The "idea" isn't bad per say ... just that it tends to be taken too far. Personally I try to keep such Linq chains down ... at most two dots in such a call (at least that being a quick-n-dirty rule-of-thumb). Especially as a normal for/foreach tends to be more efficient too, your sample is quite litterally performing 3 loops where one for loop would have sufficed. The only time I feel such long chain of Linq extension methods make sense is if using the Linq SQL syntax instead. Though it's still not very efficient, actually less so than the pseudo FP style.
