kj a écrit :
I'm will be teaching a programming class to novices, and I've run into a clear conflict between two of the principles I'd like to teach: code clarity vs. code reuse. I'd love your opinion about it.
(snip - others already commented on this code)
Here's the rub: the code above is more general (hence more reusable) by virtue of this trick with the sense parameter, but it is also a bit harder to understand.
Perhaps better naming (s/sense/direction/g ?) and a small comment could help ?
This not an unusual situation. I find that the processing of abstracting out common logic often results in code that is harder to read, at least for the uninitiated...
IOW : the notion of "clarity" depends on the context (including the reader). Anyway, there are algorithms (or implementations of...) that are definitly and inherently on the 'hard to read' side - well, complexity is something you have to learn to live with, period. The key is to try and make it as simple and readable *as possible*.
Also, factoring out common code - or even slightly complex code - often makes _client_ code (much) more readable.
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