[Cuis] Where to put the complexity?

[Juan Vuletich]

Hi folks,

On 6/29/2015 10:51 AM, Ken.Dickey wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Jun 2015 07:09:43 -0400
> "Phil (list)"<pbpublist at gmail.com>  wrote:
>> ..  Is it
>> worth having a class for this vs. raising the more general Notification
>> and then checking for a #ReparseAfterSourceEditing signal, and if it
>> isn't, re-raise Notification in its sole handler?
>> ..
>> This is a specific example of the more general question of where to draw
>> the line on having single, or very limited, use classes and methods vs.
>> adding a tiny bit of complexity in one or two methods to simplify the
>> overall image or package in question.  Thoughts?
> I would say the overriding goal is clarity.
>
> It is important work to refactor code to have the same behavior but be easier to understand.
>
> A Smalltalk style goal is to have small methods which do things clearly.  This tends to lead to lots of small methods.
>
> Specializing classes for one or just a few methods may seem wasteful, but computer resources are cheap.
>
> Look at class #PartsBinMorph.  Would you say the having the additional class is wasteful?
>
> It is a tough balance.  Aesthetics and restraint require judgement and we don't always get it right.  It takes time.
>
> I only have so many life hours left.  I feel my time is valuable.  I prefer to understand.
>
> Thank you so much for taking the time to make Cuis more comprehensible.
>
> $0.02
> -KenD

I fully support Ken. I don't think that a general answer is correct in 
all cases here. It is a matter of making code easy to understand. But 
also making it consistent and pretty.

In general, I don't like making general classes know much about details 
of specific use cases. But there might be exceptions.

If you feel like experimenting with this kind of stuff, send your 
suggestions to the mail list so we can discuss.

In the particular case of ReparseAfterSourceEditing, I agree that a 
class that does nothing is a bit strange. But, what is the alternative? 
How would the sole exception handler know what to do with a general 
Notification? I think the handler looks quite reasonable right now. And 
the pollution of the global space might be tolerable if the alternative 
is more convoluted code...

$0.02, not really a strong opinion.

Cheers,
Juan Vuletich