What's your most controversial programming opinion?

Question

This is definitely subjective, but I'd like to try to avoid it becoming argumentative. I think it could be an interesting question if people treat it appropriately.

The idea for this question came from the comment thread from my answer to the "What are five things you hate about your favorite language?" question. I contended that classes in C# should be sealed by default - I won't put my reasoning in the question, but I might write a fuller explanation as an answer to this question. I was surprised at the heat of the discussion in the comments (25 comments currently).

So, what contentious opinions do you hold? I'd rather avoid the kind of thing which ends up being pretty religious with relatively little basis (e.g. brace placing) but examples might include things like "unit testing isn't actually terribly helpful" or "public fields are okay really". The important thing (to me, anyway) is that you've got reasons behind your opinions.

Please present your opinion and reasoning - I would encourage people to vote for opinions which are well-argued and interesting, whether or not you happen to agree with them.

Answer 1

Most professional programmers suck

I have come across too many people doing this job for their living who were plain crappy at what they were doing. Crappy code, bad communication skills, no interest in new technology whatsoever. Too many, too many...

Answer 2

A degree in computer science does not---and is not supposed to---teach you to be a programmer.

Programming is a trade, computer science is a field of study. You can be a great programmer and a poor computer scientist and a great computer scientist and an awful programmer. It is important to understand the difference.

If you want to be a programmer, learn Java. If you want to be a computer scientist, learn at least three almost completely different languages. e.g. (assembler, c, lisp, ruby, smalltalk)

Answer 3

SESE (Single Entry Single Exit) is not law

Example:

public int foo() {
   if( someCondition ) {
      return 0;
   }

   return -1;
}

vs:

public int foo() {
   int returnValue = -1;

   if( someCondition ) {
      returnValue = 0;
   }

   return returnValue;
}

My team and I have found that abiding by this all the time is actually counter-productive in many cases.

Answer 4

C++ is one of the WORST programming languages - EVER.

It has all of the hallmarks of something designed by committee - it does not do any given job well, and does some jobs (like OO) terribly. It has a "kitchen sink" desperation to it that just won't go away.

It is a horrible "first language" to learn to program with. You get no elegance, no assistance (from the language). Instead you have bear traps and mine fields (memory management, templates, etc.).

It is not a good language to try to learn OO concepts. It behaves as "C with a class wrapper" instead of a proper OO language.

I could go on, but will leave it at that for now. I have never liked programming in C++, and although I "cut my teeth" on FORTRAN, I totally loved programming in C. I still think C was one of the great "classic" languages. Something that C++ is certainly NOT, in my opinion.

Cheers,

-R

EDIT: To respond to the comments on teaching C++. You can teach C++ in two ways - either teaching it as C "on steroids" (start with variables, conditions, loops, etc), or teaching it as a pure "OO" language (start with classes, methods, etc). You can find teaching texts that use one or other of these approaches. I prefer the latter approach (OO first) as it does emphasize the capabilities of C++ as an OO language (which was the original design emphasis of C++). If you want to teach C++ "as C", then I think you should teach C, not C++.

But the problem with C++ as a first language in my experience is that the language is simply too BIG to teach in one semester, plus most "intro" texts try and cover everything. It is simply not possible to cover all the topics in a "first language" course. You have to at least split it into 2 semesters, and then it's no longer "first language", IMO.

I do teach C++, but only as a "new language" - that is, you must be proficient in some prior "pure" language (not scripting or macros) before you can enroll in the course. C++ is a very fine "second language" to learn, IMO.

-R

'Nother Edit: (to Konrad)

I do not at all agree that C++ "is superior in every way" to C. I spent years coding C programs for microcontrollers and other embedded applications. The C compilers for these devices are highly optimized, often producing code as good as hand-coded assembler. When you move to C++, you gain a tremendous overhead imposed by the compiler in order to manage language features you may not use. In embedded applications, you gain little by adding classes and such, IMO. What you need is tight, clean code. You can write it in C++, but then you're really just writing C, and the C compilers are more optimized in these applications.

I wrote a MIDI engine, first in C, later in C++ (at the vendor's request) for an embedded controller (sound card). In the end, to meet the performance requirements (MIDI timings, etc) we had to revert to pure C for all of the core code. We were able to use C++ for the high-level code, and having classes was very sweet - but we needed C to get the performance at the lower level. The C code was an order of magnitude faster than the C++ code, but hand coded assembler was only slightly faster than the compiled C code. This was back in the early 1990s, just to place the events properly.

-R

Answer 5

You must know how to type to be a programmer.

It's controversial among people who don't know how to type, but who insist that they can two-finger hunt-and-peck as fast as any typist, or that they don't really need to spend that much time typing, or that Intellisense relieves the need to type...

I've never met anyone who does know how to type, but insists that it doesn't make a difference.

See also: Programming's Dirtiest Little Secret

Answer 6

A degree in Computer Science or other IT area DOES make you a more well rounded programmer

I don't care how many years of experience you have, how many blogs you've read, how many open source projects you're involved in. A qualification (I'd recommend longer than 3 years) exposes you to a different way of thinking and gives you a great foundation.

Just because you've written some better code than a guy with a BSc in Computer Science, does not mean you are better than him. What you have he can pick up in an instant which is not the case the other way around.

Having a qualification shows your commitment, the fact that you would go above and beyond experience to make you a better developer. Developers which are good at what they do AND have a qualification can be very intimidating.

I would not be surprized if this answer gets voted down.

Also, once you have a qualification, you slowly stop comparing yourself to those with qualifications (my experience). You realize that it all doesn't matter at the end, as long as you can work well together.

Always act mercifully towards other developers, irrespective of qualifications.

Answer 7

Lazy Programmers are the Best Programmers

A lazy programmer most often finds ways to decrease the amount of time spent writing code (especially a lot of similar or repeating code). This often translates into tools and workflows that other developers in the company/team can benefit from.

As the developer encounters similar projects he may create tools to bootstrap the development process (e.g. creating a DRM layer that works with the company's database design paradigms).

Furthermore, developers such as these often use some form of code generation. This means all bugs of the same type (for example, the code generator did not check for null parameters on all methods) can often be fixed by fixing the generator and not the 50+ instances of that bug.

A lazy programmer may take a few more hours to get the first product out the door, but will save you months down the line.

Answer 8

Don't use inheritance unless you can explain why you need it.

Answer 9

The world needs more GOTOs

GOTOs are avoided religiously often with no reasoning beyond "my professor told me GOTOs are bad." They have a purpose and would greatly simplify production code in many places.

That said, they aren't really necessary in 99% of the code you'll ever write.

Answer 10

I've been burned for broadcasting these opinions in public before, but here goes:

Well-written code in dynamically typed languages follows static-typing conventions

Having used Python, PHP, Perl, and a few other dynamically typed languages, I find that well-written code in these languages follows static typing conventions, for example:

• Its considered bad style to re-use a variable with different types (for example, its bad style to take a list variable and assign an int, then assign the variable a bool in the same method). Well-written code in dynamically typed languages doesn't mix types.

• A type-error in a statically typed language is still a type-error in a dynamically typed language.

• Functions are generally designed to operate on a single datatype at a time, so that a function which accepts a parameter of type T can only sensibly be used with objects of type T or subclasses of T.

• Functions designed to operator on many different datatypes are written in a way that constrains parameters to a well-defined interface. In general terms, if two objects of types A and B perform a similar function, but aren't subclasses of one another, then they almost certainly implement the same interface.

While dynamically typed languages certainly provide more than one way to crack a nut, most well-written, idiomatic code in these languages pays close attention to types just as rigorously as code written in statically typed languages.

Dynamic typing does not reduce the amount of code programmers need to write

When I point out how peculiar it is that so many static-typing conventions cross over into dynamic typing world, I usually add "so why use dynamically typed languages to begin with?". The immediate response is something along the lines of being able to write more terse, expressive code, because dynamic typing allows programmers to omit type annotations and explicitly defined interfaces. However, I think the most popular statically typed languages, such as C#, Java, and Delphi, are bulky by design, not as a result of their type systems.

I like to use languages with a real type system like OCaml, which is not only statically typed, but its type inference and structural typing allow programmers to omit most type annotations and interface definitions.

The existence of the ML family of languages demostrates that we can enjoy the benefits of static typing with all the brevity of writing in a dynamically typed language. I actually use OCaml's REPL for ad hoc, throwaway scripts in exactly the same way everyone else uses Perl or Python as a scripting language.

Answer 11

Programmers who spend all day answering questions on Stackoverflow are probably not doing the work they are being paid to do.

Answer 12

Code layout does matter

Maybe specifics of brace position should remain purely religious arguments - but it doesn't mean that all layout styles are equal, or that there are no objective factors at all!

The trouble is that the uber-rule for layout, namely: "be consistent", sound as it is, is used as a crutch by many to never try to see if their default style can be improved on - and that, furthermore, it doesn't even matter.

A few years ago I was studying Speed Reading techniques, and some of the things I learned about how the eye takes in information in "fixations", can most optimally scan pages, and the role of subconsciously picking up context, got me thinking about how this applied to code - and writing code with it in mind especially.

It led me to a style that tended to be columnar in nature, with identifiers logically grouped and aligned where possible (in particular I became strict about having each method argument on its own line). However, rather than long columns of unchanging structure it's actually beneficial to vary the structure in blocks so that you end up with rectangular islands that the eye can take in in a single fixture - even if you don't consciously read every character.

The net result is that, once you get used to it (which typically takes 1-3 days) it becomes pleasing to the eye, easier and faster to comprehend, and is less taxing on the eyes and brain because it's laid out in a way that makes it easier to take in.

Almost without exception, everyone I have asked to try this style (including myself) initially said, "ugh I hate it!", but after a day or two said, "I love it - I'm finding it hard not to go back and rewrite all my old stuff this way!".

I've been hoping to find the time to do more controlled experiments to collect together enough evidence to write a paper on, but as ever have been too busy with other things. However this seemed like a good opportunity to mention it to people interested in controversial techniques :-)

[Edit]

I finally got around to blogging about this (after many years parked in the "meaning to" phase): Part one, Part two, Part three.

Answer 13

Opinion: explicit variable declaration is a great thing.

I'll never understand the "wisdom" of letting the developer waste costly time tracking down runtime errors caused by variable name typos instead of simply letting the compiler/interpreter catch them.

Nobody's ever given me an explanation better than "well it saves time since I don't have to write 'int i;'." Uhhhhh... yeah, sure, but how much time does it take to track down a runtime error?

Answer 14

Opinion: Never ever have different code between "debug" and "release" builds

The main reason being that release code almost never gets tested. Better to have the same code running in test as it is in the wild.

Answer 15

Opinion: developers should be testing their own code

I've seen too much crap handed off to test only to have it not actually fix the bug in question, incurring communication overhead and fostering irresponsible practices.

Answer 16

Respect the Single Responsibility Principle

At first glance you might not think this would be controversial, but in my experience when I mention to another developer that they shouldn't be doing everything in the page load method they often push back ... so for the children please quit building the "do everything" method we see all to often.

Answer 17

Pagination is never what the user wants

If you start having the discussion about where to do pagination, in the database, in the business logic, on the client, etc. then you are asking the wrong question. If your app is giving back more data than the user needs, figure out a way for the user to narrow down what they need based on real criteria, not arbitrary sized chunks. And if the user really does want all those results, then give them all the results. Who are you helping by giving back 20 at a time? The server? Is that more important than your user?

[EDIT: clarification, based on comments]

As a real world example, let's look at this Stack Overflow question. Let's say I have a controversial programming opinion. Before I post, I'd like to see if there is already an answer that addresses the same opinion, so I can upvote it. The only option I have is to click through every page of answers.

I would prefer one of these options:

1. Allow me to search through the answers (a way for me to narrow down what I need based on real criteria).

2. Allow me to see all the answers so I can use my browser's "find" option (give me all the results).

The same applies if I just want to find an answer I previously read, but can't find anymore. I don't know when it was posted or how many votes it has, so the sorting options don't help. And even if I did, I still have to play a guessing game to find the right page of results. The fact that the answers are paginated and I can directly click into one of a dozen pages is no help at all.

--
bmb

Answer 18

Architects that do not code are useless.

That sounds a little harsh, but it's not unreasonable. If you are the "architect" for a system, but do not have some amount of hands-on involvement with the technologies employed then how do you get the respect of the development team? How do you influence direction?

Architects need to do a lot more (meet with stakeholders, negotiate with other teams, evaluate vendors, write documentation, give presentations, etc.) But, if you never see code checked in from by your architect... be wary!

Answer 19

Source Control: Anything But SourceSafe

Also: Exclusive locking is evil.

I once worked somewhere where they argued that exclusive locks meant that you were guaranteeing that people were not overwriting someone else's changes when you checked in. The problem was that in order to get any work done, if a file was locked devs would just change their local file to writable and merging (or overwriting) the source control with their version when they had the chance.

Answer 20

Objects Should Never Be In An Invalid State

Unfortunately, so many of the ORM framework mandate zero-arg constructors for all entity classes, using setters to populate the member variables. In those cases, it's very difficult to know which setters must be called in order to construct a valid object.

MyClass c = new MyClass(); // Object in invalid state. Doesn't have an ID.
c.setId(12345); // Now object is valid.

In my opinion, it should be impossible for an object to ever find itself in an invalid state, and the class's API should actively enforce its class invariants after every method call.

Constructors and mutator methods should atomically transition an object from one valid state to another. This is much better:

MyClass c = new MyClass(12345); // Object starts out valid. Stays valid.

As the consumer of some library, it's a huuuuuuge pain to keep track of whether all the right setters have been invoked before attempting to use an object, since the documentation usually provides no clues about the class's contract.

Answer 21

Opinion: Unit tests don't need to be written up front, and sometimes not at all.

Reasoning: Developers suck at testing their own code. We do. That's why we generally have test teams or QA groups.

Most of the time the code we write is to intertwined with other code to be tested separately, so we end up jumping through patterned hoops to provide testability. Not that those patterns are bad, but they can sometimes add unnecessary complexity, all for the sake of unit testing...

... which often doesn't work anyway. To write a comprehensive unit test requires alot of time. Often more time than we're willing to give. And the more comprehensive the test, the more brittle it becomes if the interface of the thing it's testing changes, forcing a rewrite of a test that no longer compiles.

Answer 22

All variables/properties should be readonly/final by default.

The reasoning is a bit analogous to the sealed argument for classes, put forward by Jon. One entity in a program should have one job, and one job only. In particular, it makes absolutely no sense for most variables and properties to ever change value. There are basically two exceptions.

1. Loop variables. But then, I argue that the variable actually doesn't change value at all. Rather, it goes out of scope at the end of the loop and is re-instantiated in the next turn. Therefore, immutability would work nicely with loop variables and everyone who tries to change a loop variable's value by hand should go straight to hell.

2. Accumulators. For example, imagine the case of summing over the values in an array, or even a list/string that accumulates some information about something else.

   Today, there are better means to accomplish the same goal. Functional languages have higher-order functions, Python has list comprehension and .NET has LINQ. In all these cases, there is no need for a mutable accumulator / result holder.

   Consider the special case of string concatenation. In many environments (.NET, Java), strings are actually immutables. Why then allow an assignment to a string variable at all? Much better to use a builder class (i.e. a StringBuilder) all along.

I realize that most languages today just aren't built to acquiesce in my wish. In my opinion, all these languages are fundamentally flawed for this reason. They would lose nothing of their expressiveness, power, and ease of use if they would be changed to treat all variables as read-only by default and didn't allow any assignment to them after their initialization.

Answer 23

Realizing sometimes good enough is good enough, is a major jump in your value as a programmer.

Note that when I say 'good enough', I mean 'good enough', not it's some crap that happens to work. But then again, when you are under a time crunch, 'some crap that happens to work', may be considered 'good enough'.

Answer 24

If I were being controversial, I'd have to suggest that Jon Skeet isn't omnipotent..

Answer 25

"Java Sucks" - yeah, I know that opinion is definitely not held by all :)

I have that opinion because the majority of Java applications I've seen are memory hogs, run slowly, horrible user interface and so on.

G-Man

Answer 26

Okay, I said I'd give a bit more detail on my "sealed classes" opinion. I guess one way to show the kind of answer I'm interested in is to give one myself :)

Opinion: Classes should be sealed by default in C#

Reasoning:

There's no doubt that inheritance is powerful. However, it has to be somewhat guided. If someone derives from a base class in a way which is completely unexpected, this can break the assumptions in the base implementation. Consider two methods in the base class, where one calls another - if these methods are both virtual, then that implementation detail has to be documented, otherwise someone could quite reasonably override the second method and expect a call to the first one to work. And of course, as soon as the implementation is documented, it can't be changed... so you lose flexibility.

C# took a step in the right direction (relative to Java) by making methods sealed by default. However, I believe a further step - making classes sealed by default - would have been even better. In particular, it's easy to override methods (or not explicitly seal existing virtual methods which you don't override) so that you end up with unexpected behaviour. This wouldn't actually stop you from doing anything you can currently do - it's just changing a default, not changing the available options. It would be a "safer" default though, just like the default access in C# is always "the most private visibility available at that point."

By making people explicitly state that they wanted people to be able to derive from their classes, we'd be encouraging them to think about it a bit more. It would also help me with my laziness problem - while I know I should be sealing almost all of my classes, I rarely actually remember to do so :(

Counter-argument:

I can see an argument that says that a class which has no virtual methods can be derived from relatively safely without the extra inflexibility and documentation usually required. I'm not sure how to counter this one at the moment, other than to say that I believe the harm of accidentally-unsealed classes is greater than that of accidentally-sealed ones.

Answer 27

Bad Programmers are Language-Agnostic

A really bad programmer can write bad code in almost any language.

Answer 28

A Clever Programmer Is Dangerous

I have spent more time trying to fix code written by "clever" programmers. I'd rather have a good programmer than an exceptionally smart programmer who wants to prove how clever he is by writing code that only he (or she) can interpret.

Answer 29

If you have any idea how to program you are not fit to place a button on a form

Is that controversial enough? ;)

No matter how hard we try, it's almost impossible to have appropriate empathy with 53 year old Doris who has to use our order-entry software. We simply cannot grasp the mental model of what she imagines is going on inside the computer, because we don't need to imagine: we know whats going on, or have a very good idea.

Interaction Design should be done by non-programmers. Of course, this is never actually going to happen. Contradictorily I'm quite glad about that; I like UI design even though deep down I know I'm unsuited to it.

For further info, read the book The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. Be warned, I found this book upsetting and insulting; it's a difficult read if you are a developer that cares about the user's experience.

Answer 30

Avoid indentation.

Use early returns, continues or breaks.

instead of:

if (passed != NULL)
{
   for(x in list)
   {
      if (peter)
      {
          print "peter";
          more code.
          ..
          ..
      }
      else
      {
          print "no peter?!"
      }
   }
}

do:

if (pPassed==NULL)
    return false;

for(x in list)
{
   if (!peter)
   {
       print "no peter?!"
       continue;
   }

   print "peter";
   more code.
   ..
   ..
}