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true-false or false-true

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  • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

    I do the same - if only because the "failure case code" is generally shorter:

    MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
    return;

    And it's more obvious what is going on that way. Plus ... it's a layer less indentation:

    if (goodThing)
    {
    ...
    }
    else
    {
    MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
    return;
    }

    Vs:

    if (!goodThing)
    {
    MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
    return;
    }
    ...

    And it groups validations at the top of methods, leaving the "good code" alone at the end:

    if (!goodThing)
    {
    MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
    return;
    }
    if (!otherThingIWantToSee)
    {
    MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
    return;
    }
    ...

    Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

    R Offline
    R Offline
    Rick York
    wrote on last edited by
    #10

    I once had to adhere to a rather arcane coding standard that required only one return statement per function. It made for some very deep indentation so I resorted to using many more very small functions. It's a bit less of an issue now with very high resolution monitors but back then it was very annoying.

    "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

    M 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      I do the same - if only because the "failure case code" is generally shorter:

      MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
      return;

      And it's more obvious what is going on that way. Plus ... it's a layer less indentation:

      if (goodThing)
      {
      ...
      }
      else
      {
      MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
      return;
      }

      Vs:

      if (!goodThing)
      {
      MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
      return;
      }
      ...

      And it groups validations at the top of methods, leaving the "good code" alone at the end:

      if (!goodThing)
      {
      MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
      return;
      }
      if (!otherThingIWantToSee)
      {
      MessageBox.Show("...", "...");
      return;
      }
      ...

      Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

      G Offline
      G Offline
      GKP1992
      wrote on last edited by
      #11

      Now that you wrote it, I see why it is obvious. I didn't think about it that much when I posted. To me it just made better sense when coding probably because of the lesser/better indentation. Also it really pays off when the code is called recursively.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • M Marc Clifton

        Which do you prefer: Option 1:

        Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

        or Option 2:

        Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

        Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

        Latest Articles:
        Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

        T Offline
        T Offline
        TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
        wrote on last edited by
        #12

        One

        #SupportHeForShe Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • M Marc Clifton

          Which do you prefer: Option 1:

          Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

          or Option 2:

          Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

          Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

          Latest Articles:
          Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

          M Offline
          M Offline
          Mark_Wallace
          wrote on last edited by
          #13

          Always go for what is, not what is not, if possible. Less mental boggling, that way.

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

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

            Ravi Bhavnani wrote:

            But shouldn't it be "Token received" if token isn't Guid.Empty?

            A perfect illustration of the mental gymnastics involved here. :) Assert.IsTrue displays the message if the assumption isn't met. Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, ... displays the message if token == Guid.Empty, meaning that "token not received" is the correct message.


            "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

            R Offline
            R Offline
            Ravi Bhavnani
            wrote on last edited by
            #14

            Gaaah! :-O I'm going to blame it on lack of caffeine, even though the real reason is sheer stupidity. /ravi

            My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • R Rick York

              I once had to adhere to a rather arcane coding standard that required only one return statement per function. It made for some very deep indentation so I resorted to using many more very small functions. It's a bit less of an issue now with very high resolution monitors but back then it was very annoying.

              "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

              M Offline
              M Offline
              Mycroft Holmes
              wrote on last edited by
              #15

              An adamant refusal to use GOTO :laugh:

              Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

              R G 2 Replies Last reply
              0
              • M Marc Clifton

                Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                or Option 2:

                Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                Latest Articles:
                Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                C Offline
                C Offline
                Chris Maunder
                wrote on last edited by
                #16

                I always prefer a positive comparison rather than negative so I prefer the first. Except the "IsFalse" kinda does my head in. How about

                Assert.IsNotTrue(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                *head explodes*

                cheers Chris Maunder

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • M Mycroft Holmes

                  An adamant refusal to use GOTO :laugh:

                  Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  Rick York
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #17

                  Using goto was forbidden. It was in C++ so that had something to do with it. The irony of it was they had this arcane and tedious coding standard and used a library they wrote themselves that was utterly atrocious. It is easily the worst library I have ever had to deal with. Here's one little tidbit : the whole thing was built around a state machine that changed states by throwing an exception. :wtf: I would have to work really hard to come up with a design worse than that.

                  "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

                  N 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • M Marc Clifton

                    Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                    Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                    or Option 2:

                    Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                    Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                    Latest Articles:
                    Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                    Sander RosselS Offline
                    Sander RosselS Offline
                    Sander Rossel
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #18

                    Just thinking outside of the box here...

                    Assert.NotEqual(token, Guid.Empty, "Token not received");

                    :D

                    Best, Sander sanderrossel.com Continuous Integration, Delivery, and Deployment arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript Object-Oriented Programming in C# Succinctly

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

                      Ravi Bhavnani wrote:

                      But shouldn't it be "Token received" if token isn't Guid.Empty?

                      A perfect illustration of the mental gymnastics involved here. :) Assert.IsTrue displays the message if the assumption isn't met. Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, ... displays the message if token == Guid.Empty, meaning that "token not received" is the correct message.


                      "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                      B Offline
                      B Offline
                      BillWoodruff
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #19

                      Richard Deeming wrote:

                      perfect illustration of the mental gymnastic

                      Or, perfect illustration of the twisted minds that defined 'Assert semantics :wtf:

                      «Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?» T. S. Elliot

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • M Marc Clifton

                        Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                        Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                        or Option 2:

                        Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                        Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                        Latest Articles:
                        Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                        S Offline
                        S Offline
                        Stuart Dootson
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #20

                        I prefer the second... I often find myself doing (in C++ unit tests) ```C++ ASSERT(!some_condition); ``` or ```C++ ASSERT(some_condition == false); ``` rather than ```C++ ASSERT_FALSE(some_condition); ``` Same thing, really, but as you say, there's an unconscious desire to be positive, I guess.

                        Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p

                        K 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • M Marc Clifton

                          Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                          Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                          or Option 2:

                          Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                          Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                          Latest Articles:
                          Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                          R Offline
                          R Offline
                          Rage
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #21

                          I always chose "!=" over "==", as an habit of the embedded world where == is forbidden by implicit rules due to the possible mistake with =.

                          Do not escape reality : improve reality !

                          R 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • M Marc Clifton

                            Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                            Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                            or Option 2:

                            Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                            Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                            Latest Articles:
                            Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            mdblack98
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #22

                            I would prefer something that rings true and has an explanation when it fails. Assert.IsTrue(TokenIsValid(token), "Invalid Token: "+ TokenCheck(token)); TokenCheck would say "Empty", "Wrong Length...must be 4 bytes" (or whatever), "Exceeds limits of 0-100"...etc.... Mike

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • M Mycroft Holmes

                              An adamant refusal to use GOTO :laugh:

                              Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP

                              G Offline
                              G Offline
                              Gary Wheeler
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #23

                              Mycroft Holmes wrote:

                              use GOTO

                              Burn the heretic!

                              Software Zen: delete this;

                              M 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • M Marc Clifton

                                Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                                Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                or Option 2:

                                Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                                Latest Articles:
                                Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                                G Offline
                                G Offline
                                Gary Wheeler
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #24

                                Marc Clifton wrote:

                                Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token is empty (not received).");

                                :-D The sense of the description now matches that of the assertion.

                                Software Zen: delete this;

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • R Rick York

                                  Using goto was forbidden. It was in C++ so that had something to do with it. The irony of it was they had this arcane and tedious coding standard and used a library they wrote themselves that was utterly atrocious. It is easily the worst library I have ever had to deal with. Here's one little tidbit : the whole thing was built around a state machine that changed states by throwing an exception. :wtf: I would have to work really hard to come up with a design worse than that.

                                  "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

                                  N Offline
                                  N Offline
                                  Navanax
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #25

                                  Seen it; rewrote it. In (pre-Visual) BASIC code (ON ERROR GOTOs that would branch to different line labels depending on the ERRNO thrown) for nuclear weapons effects. Guess it's fitting, in retrospect, that "bomb code" worked by "blowing up" :)

                                  R 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • S Stuart Dootson

                                    I prefer the second... I often find myself doing (in C++ unit tests) ```C++ ASSERT(!some_condition); ``` or ```C++ ASSERT(some_condition == false); ``` rather than ```C++ ASSERT_FALSE(some_condition); ``` Same thing, really, but as you say, there's an unconscious desire to be positive, I guess.

                                    Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p

                                    K Offline
                                    K Offline
                                    kalberts
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #26

                                    If you prefer to compare a logical expression to a logical constant (true, false), then I beg to disagree! Do you ask someone: Is it true that you want a cup of coffee? Or do you ask: Do you want a cup of coffee? You reserve the "Is is true that" form to very special cases, like: Is is true that you love me? So "== true" or "== false" is completely banned from any code that I handle!

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • M Marc Clifton

                                      Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                                      Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                      or Option 2:

                                      Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                      Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                                      Latest Articles:
                                      Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                                      O Offline
                                      O Offline
                                      obermd
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #27

                                      Since there is a negation in the statement, I'd rather use option 2 in this case. The negation is clearer to me.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • M Marc Clifton

                                        Which do you prefer: Option 1:

                                        Assert.IsTrue(token != Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                        or Option 2:

                                        Assert.IsFalse(token == Guid.Empty, "Token not received.");

                                        Personally, I go for option 1, because there's a bias to assert that things are true rather than false (except in politics) and it reads better. I have to process the false == into a true !=. With Option 1, I don't have to do that. Interesting how the mind works. Maybe a psychopath would go for option 2? ;P

                                        Latest Articles:
                                        Microservices: Myth, Madness, or Magic I Take Exception

                                        K Offline
                                        K Offline
                                        kalberts
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #28

                                        For me, it depends. From my "programming childhood" I was brought up to write every funcition as a (1) verify all arguments and preconditions, (2) do the work, (3) prepare the results. If in step 1 any precondition is not satisfied, then you prepare an error return and get out of there, making no changes. Don't even look at the work and result stages. If anything in step 2 prevents you from creating a complete result, then you prepare an error return and get out of there, without any side effects or other kinds of results. In step 3, with all preconditons met and all work successfully completed, you do whatever possible to preserve the results (e.g. wait for locks to be released). If all functions are written in this orderly manner, you very rarely run into problems in this step. These "Get out of there" tests are usually semantically negative, even though they may be syntactically positive ("if (parameter outside legal range) ..."). The essential part is: Don't bother the clean work with debris (I count "n" levels of extra indentation due to validity checks as "debris"!). If there is nothing more you can do, then leave! Any test that ends up in an abort/termination is placed as early as possible - and then there is no "else" and no extra indentation. Within step 2, and sometimes even in step 1, the "if" selects one of two equally valid actions, or they are elseif-alternatives. In such cases, I write the test so that the most likely case comes first (even when that requieres negation of the logical expression). An elseif-sequence is ordered in decreasing likelyhood. The final else is the least likely one - like a default at the end of a switch case statement.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • N Navanax

                                          Seen it; rewrote it. In (pre-Visual) BASIC code (ON ERROR GOTOs that would branch to different line labels depending on the ERRNO thrown) for nuclear weapons effects. Guess it's fitting, in retrospect, that "bomb code" worked by "blowing up" :)

                                          R Offline
                                          R Offline
                                          Rick York
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #29

                                          That's an interesting coincidence. At the same job where I used that horrendous library the company built robots. They used Microsoft's BASIC as the embedded language and it had that ON ERROR stuff in it. It could get very tricky and downright dangerous when an emergency stop was activated because there was no telling where the robot would go next when the stop was cleared.

                                          "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

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