• magic_lobster_party
    link
    fedilink
    12
    edit-2
    7 months ago

    I’ve seen code that look like this:

    int delay = 15 * 60; // 10 minutes

    Even if the comment was on the same line someone forgot to update it. People just ignore comments.

    Better solution is to write (in C#):

    TimeSpan delay = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(15)

    Much more obvious what the code actually means.

    • @18107@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      87 months ago

      A better comment would be delay in seconds as that is the one thing not obvious from glancing at the code.

      • magic_lobster_party
        link
        fedilink
        137 months ago

        Or just name the variable delaySeconds if you really want to store it as an int. Bonus is that every use of the variable perfectly communicates what it is.

    • @CCatMan
      link
      17 months ago

      Is the better way is a runtime performance hit. Does the compiler optimize this?

      • magic_lobster_party
        link
        fedilink
        17 months ago

        It’s probably a little bit slower, but there are other things more worth to optimize than to shave off a few microseconds from a 15 minute delay.

        • @CCatMan
          link
          27 months ago

          Yeah, it adds up eventually when working with embedded platforms, but for PC stuff I agree.

          • magic_lobster_party
            link
            fedilink
            27 months ago

            If you’re working in embedded I guess you can probably make an inline function or a macro so it’s taken care of at compile time.