Re: Spaghetti, macaroni or ravioli?

[nobody <nobody+lua-list@...>]

On 2017-08-16 11:57, Etiene Dalcol wrote:
> I do it like in the first option.
>
> But I prefer doing this depending on the condition:
>
> if reverse_condition then return end
> call_my_routine()

On 2017-08-16 11:49, Dirk Laurie wrote:
> Suppose your program has some very short actions in an if.
>
> if condition then call_my_routine() else return end

Same here – I make my funs exit as early as possible if that fits in a
line (or 2-3 at most).

(I also generally fold short blocks that fit in <80 chars into the same
line, adding two spaces around the block and separating statements by
space-semicolon-space. I don't do that (and use the "downwards form")
if there are "serious" side-effects / variable updates that one should
be aware of.)


Rationale for both: Once the code exists, I'll only re-read it to
  (a) improve it / fix bugs, or
  (b) understand _what_ it does (usually not _how_ it does that)
and the way I format the code is directly structured around that.

Early exits means I can read down (and ignore the sideways bits) to get
a general idea of the structure & what happens. I can then zoom in on
the relevant part and read that in full. If I need more context, I can
read down and accumulate constraints from the side-branches, still
ignoring their content (because it won't significantly affect code
further down). Only very rarely do I have to actually read the full thing.

(Combined with terse 1-line "section comments" (setup, traverse left,
combine, …) that permit skipping even more of the code, I find that I
can quickly navigate & patch even years-old code.  So this seems to work
very well for me.)

-- nobody