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Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators

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On Sunday, November 20, 2011 4:29:30 AM UTC-8, Wanja Gayk wrote:
> In article <icWwq.30836$Uw7.17222@newsfe02.iad>, 
> newsgrou...@virtualinfinity.net says...
> 
> > Perhaps in this case, but the point still stands that null propagation 
> > can make bug diagnosis much more difficult.
> 
> Even though I do second you on that, reality says: You rarely have a 
> chance to avoid null propagation and null checks, because you can't 
> write everything for yourself, 

So what you're saying is that you can only maintain code to which you have access to the source code.  Frikkin' brilliant.

> not every project is a greenfield project 
> and sometimes leaving a null somewhere is the quick option that your 
> project lead is willing to pay (think of partially populating models in 
> several steps for example).

That is pure horseshit, a stinky, steaming, stellar pile of it.

First of all, my project lead doesn't tell me to skip null checks.  If they do, I ignore them.  If they insist, I tell them to stuff it.  What a ridiculous concept.

How unprofessional can one be?

A 'NullPointerException', like other runtime exception, evidences a programming error.  You just spoke up in favor of deliberately programming bugs into the code.  Stupid, stupid idea.  Please do not work on any project I care about.

The overhead of checking data validity (e.g., non-null inputs to a method) is far, far lower when first coding then it is later when you try to figure out all the places where you stupidly decided to leave out the checks.  No one who knows software development should be so stupid as to suggest deliberately increasing the cost and reducing the correctness of a program like that.

Good managers work to reduce risk and cost.

The point is that you catch such exceptions as early as possible.  DUHHH, of course you can't catch it in the middle of some third-party API call, but you can catch it the moment that call returns to your code, and that's what was recommended to limit exception propagation.  Pinning it to third-party code suffices, so your point was specious.

The cost of writing the checks up front is orders of magnitude, yes, orders of magnitude (base 10), cheaper than skipping it and coming back later, in most cases infinitely cheaper since you'll never get the chance to go back to correct your stupidly deliberate mistakes.

So let's push back on idiotic, stupid suggestions like, "Let's make the program correct later - just get it done incorrectly for now."

What a maroon!

-- 
Lew

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toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-11-13 09:17 -0800
  Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Tom Anderson <twic@urchin.earth.li> - 2011-11-13 17:59 +0000
    Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-11-14 10:28 -0800
      Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-11-14 10:55 -0800
        Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-11-15 09:04 -0800
        Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators kensi <kensi_kensington@zoonoses.de> - 2011-11-16 12:50 -0500
          Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-11-16 13:47 -0800
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-11-16 16:09 -0800
              Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-16 17:02 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-11-16 17:31 -0800
              Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Martin Gregorie <martin@address-in-sig.invalid> - 2011-11-17 22:51 +0000
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Paul Cager <paul.cager@googlemail.com> - 2011-11-17 02:43 -0800
              Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Tim Slattery <Slattery_T@bls.gov> - 2011-11-17 08:57 -0500
              Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-11-18 16:05 -0800
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators kensi <kensi_kensington@zoonoses.de> - 2011-11-17 21:21 -0500
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2011-11-20 13:29 +0100
              Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-20 08:23 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Brixomatic <wanja.gayk@googlemail.com> - 2011-11-21 04:39 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-11-21 11:25 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2011-11-25 21:44 -0500
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Daniel Pitts <newsgroup.nospam@virtualinfinity.net> - 2011-11-26 15:34 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-21 14:20 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Gene Wirchenko <genew@ocis.net> - 2011-11-21 19:22 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-21 22:45 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2011-12-10 12:15 +0100
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators ilAn <idonot@wantspam.net> - 2011-12-10 19:47 +0200
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-12-10 14:57 -0400
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators ilAn <nosuch@email.com> - 2011-12-11 10:46 +0200
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2011-12-12 07:42 -0400
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators ilAn <nosuch@email.com> - 2011-12-12 16:06 +0200
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators "Qu0ll" <Qu0llSixFour@gmail.com> - 2011-12-13 02:01 +1100
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2011-12-17 12:30 +0100
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2011-12-17 12:30 +0100
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-11-22 19:47 -0800
          Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-16 14:02 -0800
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-11-17 08:42 +0000
          Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Nigel Wade <nmw-news@ion.le.ac.uk> - 2011-11-17 15:09 +0000
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators kensi <kensi_kensington@zoonoses.de> - 2011-11-17 21:22 -0500
          Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators spk <jhic@speak.invalid> - 2011-11-17 13:40 -0400
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-17 09:56 -0800
              Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators spk <jhic@speak.invalid> - 2011-11-17 14:00 -0400
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Andreas Leitgeb <avl@gamma.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2011-11-17 19:23 +0000
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators spk <jhic@speak.invalid> - 2011-11-17 16:35 -0400
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-17 13:50 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators spk <jhic@speak.invalid> - 2011-11-17 18:48 -0400
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators thoolen <tholen01@gmail.com> - 2011-11-17 18:33 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-17 13:48 -0800
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators "Joe Attardi" <jattard1@gmail.com> - 2011-11-18 12:20 +0100
                Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators thoolen <th00len@th0lenbot.thorium> - 2011-11-18 15:21 -0500
            Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators thoolen <tholen01@gmail.com> - 2011-11-17 18:31 -0800
    Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Wanja Gayk <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2011-11-20 13:14 +0100
      Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2011-11-20 08:29 -0800
        Re: toward null-safe cookie cutter Comparators Brixomatic <wanja.gayk@googlemail.com> - 2011-11-21 04:03 -0800

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