More about variables

[Grant Edwards]

In article <38ED017E.1E374737 at bellatlantic.net>, Steve Holden wrote:
>
>> Why create named variables?
>
>> I always thought that having 20 lists saved more space than having one
>> list of 20 lists.  Maybe I'm wrong.
>
>First make it work.  *Then* make it work better!

That's an _extremely_ valuable thing to remember.

And it seems to be something that many CSci graduates escape
from college without learning.  _Some_ of the engineering
graduates have learned it, but not many.

In practice you'll find that

1) Half of the time you'll discover what you thought you wanted
   wasn't really what you needed, so having something that does
   it smaller or faster is equally useless as something that
   does it bigger and slower.  The sooner you get to that point
   the better off you are.

2) The other half of the time, you'll discover than something
   slightly bigger or slower is good enough, and time spent
   making it work better is best spend on something else.

Taking these observations into account, a second good rule to
remember is:

   First make it work.  Then make something else work.

;)

-- 
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow!  I'm into SOFTWARE!
                                  at               
                               visi.com