• magic_lobster_party@kbin.social
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    11 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
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      11 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@kbin.social
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        11 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@lemmy.one
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      11 months ago

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

      • magic_lobster_party@kbin.social
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        11 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@lemmy.one
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          11 months ago

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