this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 227 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (7 children)

As a software developer, the less ambiguous your notation is, the better it is for everyone involved. Not only will I use brackets, I'll split my expression into multiple rows and use tabs to make it as readable as humanly possible. And maybe throw a comment or 2 if there's still some black magic involved

[–] [email protected] 83 points 7 months ago (4 children)

No just write the entire code in one line totally perfect.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"don't worry, you just need this simple one-liner to fix your project"

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The one-liner: *parses HTML with a regex*

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

cthulhu fthagn

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (2 children)

That almost seems cute next to the shit the obfuscated c contest pulls off. https://www.ioccc.org/years.html

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (3 children)

For some context this is one of the winning entries:

#include <stdio.h>

#define N(a) "%"#a"$hhn" #define O(a,b) "%10$"#a"d"N(b) #define U "%10$.*37$d" #define G(a) "%"#a"$s" #define H(a,b) G(a)G(b) #define T(a) a a #define s(a) T(a)T(a) #define A(a) s(a)T(a)a #define n(a) A(a)a #define D(a) n(a)A(a) #define C(a) D(a)a #define R C(C(N(12)G(12))) #define o(a,b,c) C(H(a,a))D(G(a))C(H(b,b)G(b))n(G(b))O(32,c)R #define SS O(78,55)R "\n\033[2J\n%26$s"; #define E(a,b,c,d) H(a,b)G(c)O(253,11)R G(11)O(255,11)R H(11,d)N(d)O(253,35)R #define S(a,b) O(254,11)H(a,b)N(68)R G(68)O(255,68)N(12)H(12,68)G(67)N(67)

char* fmt = O(10,39)N(40)N(41)N(42)N(43)N(66)N(69)N(24)O(22,65)O(5,70)O(8,44)N( 45)N(46)N (47)N(48)N( 49)N( 50)N( 51)N(52)N(53 )O( 28, 54)O(5, 55) O(2, 56)O(3,57)O( 4,58 )O(13, 73)O(4, 71 )N( 72)O (20,59 )N(60)N(61)N( 62)N (63)N (64)R R E(1,2, 3,13 )E(4, 5,6,13)E(7,8,9 ,13)E(1,4 ,7,13)E (2,5,8, 13)E( 3,6,9,13)E(1,5, 9,13)E(3 ,5,7,13 )E(14,15, 16,23) E(17,18,19,23)E( 20, 21, 22,23)E (14,17,20,23)E(15, 18,21,23)E(16,19, 22 ,23)E( 14, 18, 22,23)E(16,18,20, 23)R U O(255 ,38)R G ( 38)O( 255,36) R H(13,23)O(255, 11)R H(11,36) O(254 ,36) R G( 36 ) O( 255,36)R S(1,14 )S(2,15)S(3, 16)S(4, 17 )S (5, 18)S(6, 19)S(7,20)S(8, 21)S(9 ,22)H(13,23 )H(36, 67 )N(11)R G(11)""O(255, 25 )R s(C(G(11) ))n (G( 11) )G( 11)N(54)R C( "aa") s(A( G(25)))T (G(25))N (69)R o (14,1,26)o( 15, 2, 27)o (16,3,28 )o( 17,4, 29)o(18 ,5,30)o(19 ,6,31)o( 20,7,32)o (21,8,33)o (22 ,9, 34)n(C(U) )N( 68)R H( 36,13)G(23) N(11)R C(D( G(11))) D(G(11))G(68)N(68)R G(68)O(49,35)R H(13,23)G(67)N(11)R C(H(11,11)G( 11))A(G(11))C(H(36,36)G(36))s(G(36))O(32,58)R C(D(G(36)))A(G(36))SS

#define arg d+6,d+8,d+10,d+12,d+14,d+16,d+18,d+20,d+22,0,d+46,d+52,d+48,d+24,d
+26,d+28,d+30,d+32,d+34,d+36,d+38,d+40,d+50,(scanf(d+126,d+4),d+(6
-2)+18*(1-d[2]%2)+d[4]*2),d,d+66,d+68,d+70, d+78,d+80,d+82,d+90,d+
92,d+94,d+97,d+54,d[2],d+2,d+71,d+77,d+83,d+89,d+95,d+72,d+73,d+74
,d+75,d+76,d+84,d+85,d+86,d+87,d+88,d+100,d+101,d+96,d+102,d+99,d+
67,d+69,d+79,d+81,d+91,d+93,d+98,d+103,d+58,d+60,d+98,d+126,d+127,
d+128,d+129

char d[538] = {1,0,10,0,10};

int main() { while(*d) printf(fmt, arg); }

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I tried to read that out loud and summoned something. Please help me, I'm scared.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

I thought this was a simple piece of software?

Pinhead: No. It is a means by which to summon us.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

this straight up looks like a chemical formula

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Further up the thread, someone mentioned that writing good software is about communicating concepts to people, first and foremost.

This, code obfuscation, is what it looks like to communicate exclusively to the compiler instead.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Excel has entered the chat

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

For real though, I have written some truly monstrous operations in Excel.

What do you mean you want to use Excel to manage everyone’s calendars? And now you want to export that horribly built calendar management spreadsheet to Google Calendar? What do you mean you want the Google Calendar entries automatically formatted based on who is working on a particular day? I mean yes it’s possible but-…

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 7 months ago (6 children)

As a professor said, most programming languages don't care about readability and whitespace. But we care because humans need it to parse meaning. Thus, write code for people, not for the machine. Always assume that someone with no knowledge of the context will have to debug it, and be kind to them. Because that someone might be you in six months when you have completely forgotten how the code works.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago

Exactly. You read code way more times than you write it, so it makes all the sense in the world to prioritize readability.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago

Source code is for humans, then the compiler turns it into code for machines.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Python forcing end of line and tabs kinda does. Add Black auto-formatter and it's pretty good.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Yep, if you're writing code for a machine, just do it in binary to save compilation time (/s just in case). Also, you in six months will indeed be someone with no knowledge of the context. And every piece of code you think you write for one-time use is guaranteed to be reused every day for the next 5 years

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago

And every piece of code you think you write for one-time use is guaranteed to be reused every day for the next 5 years

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

This. Always be kind to your future self.

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I had someone submit a pull request recently that, in addition to their actual changes, also removed every single parenthesis that wasn't strictly necessary in a file full of 3D math functions. I know it was probably the fault of an autoformatter they used, but I was still the most offended I've ever been at a pull request.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago

Autoformatter? More like obfuscator

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago

I genuinely hate being human for this stuff. So many things have such crazy computational shortcuts, it's sometimes difficult to remember which part represents reality. Outside of the realm of math, where "imaginary" numbers are still a touch of enigma to me, so many algorithms are based on general assumptions about reality or the specific task, that the programmatic approach NEVER encapsulates the full scope of the problem.

As in, sometimes if you know EXACTLY how a tool works, you might still have no idea about the significance of that tool. Even in a universe where no one is lazy, and everyone wants to know "why?", the answers are NOT forthcoming.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago

Also works if you dont trust yourself with correctly ordering your operations.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I, my head, shake.

  • RPN user
[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Also known as: Japanese speaker

[–] [email protected] 24 points 7 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago (6 children)
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[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

(I used(LISP)one time(and it(permanently))changed the way I (program(computers)))

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago (2 children)

This is why every calculator should be a RPN calculator.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

I still have my HP 48 series calculator. It's a sturdy beast.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (10 children)

The underlying truth of this joke is: Programming syntax is less confusing than mathematical syntax. There are genuinely ambiguous layouts of syntax in math (to a human reader that hasn't internalized PEMDAS, anyways) whereas you get a compilation error if ANYTHING is ambiguous in programming. (yes, I am WELL aware of the frustrations of runtime errors)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (12 children)

Internalized PEMDAS without knowing it's literally the same thing as BODMAS is exactly the problem!

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

( . ) ( . ) ( . Y . )

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago

Improved readability is always good

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

My calculator says -2² = -4, so yeah...

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Isn't the "-" order of operations the same as a multiply ? I think I learned powers take priority over the "-" so your calculator would be right.
But either way if it can cause confusion you should use parentheses.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I just used the calc on window.. it cannot respect order of operation. Any simple calculator from 1980 was better than that

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

I've never seen a calculator that had bracket keys but didn't implement the conventional order of operations.

But anyway, I'm on Team RPN.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

my dumb ass reading this: "Team rock paper nscissors"

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

I feel this in my bones

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I recall that there is a myriad of memes of the form 'what is 4-2*3' under which there is always a never ending discussion of confidently incorrect dumbasses denying the existence of the multiplication before addition rule.

So your suspicion is at least not unreasonable

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