Re: Please help me find the error in my logical OR

On Sat, Feb 4, 2012 at 21:30, h4y4shi 13bladex
<[e-mail]> wrote:

> I think the error is in the following code.

I think it would be a lot easier to fix if it weren't depending on
several things with very similar names.  As has been suggested before,
you can make this MUCH shorter *and clearer* (the two are not the
same, witness Perl) by simply putting them in an array instead of a
bunch of vars.  Then you can sum them and subtract out the lowest, or
sort them and omit the lowest in your summing, or various other
approaches.

To take it to a higher level: any time you find yourself declaring a
series of variables with very similar names, especially just varying
by some tag that exists only to make the names different, STOP!  You
are almost certainly doing something that would be much better done
with an array.  (Or possibly a hash.)  You can almost always achieve
the same effect, much more simply, reliably, flexibly, and clearly, by
iterating over an array or hash, than by doing essentially the same
code for each of a bunch of very similar variables.

For example, in your specific case, if you needed to accomodate one
more number, your current approach would require a boatload of tiny
little code changes and a couple of additions.  Each change, addition,
or even deletion, introduces an opportunity for bugs to leak in.
Using an array... no changes, except in initially populating it.

To take it to an even higher level: don't just think about what will
produce the right answer, right now.  Also take into account what will
best communicate the intent to a future reader, and other factors that
will make future changes easier and more robust.  That is one of the
things that separates a "software engineer" from a mere "code monkey".

> Attachments:
> http://www.ruby-forum.com/attachment/6951/rpgv3.rb

We who read this as an email list can't get at that.  If you want more
eyes on it, put it somewhere public.  (Or if it's *very* short, just
include it in the body.)

-Dave

--=20
Dave Aronson: =C2=A0Available Cleared Ruby on Rails Freelancer
(NoVa/DC/Remote) -- see www.DaveAronson.com, and blogs at
www.Codosaur.us, www.Dare2XL.com, www.RecruitingRants.com