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Revisiting the Comments Debate: The Self-Documenting Code Contest
The great commenting debate generated a lot of disagreement, both here and elsewhere, about the value of code comments with respect to writing self-explanatory code. Â If you are of the opinion that good code does not need comments, here is your chance to prove it. Â Laurie Cheers has created The Self-Documenting Code Contest. Â The idea is to solve a given problem using the most understandabe code that you can write. Â No comments are allowed. Â The problem is to generate all two-word anagrams of the word “documenting”.
Although I’ve clearly stated my opinion in favour of comments, I decided to give it a shot. Â I’ve already submitted my Haskell solution and, to be honest, you’d do well to improve on its readability. Â I believe that it satisfies all of the requirements using a brilliantly simple algorithm.
I’ve hidden my code in case you want to try for yourself first. Â Click “show” to reveal my solution: show
generateAllTwoWordAnagramsOfTheWordDocumenting :: [String] generateAllTwoWordAnagramsOfTheWordDocumenting = ["ceding mount", "document gin", "condign mute", "induct gnome", "coming tuned", "gnomic tuned", "cumin tonged", "cum denoting"]
I believe there is a lesson here about doing the simplest thing that could possibly work and how that can lead to simpler, more understandable code.
(I was also able to indulge in a little re-use while writing my solution).
UPDATE: I got disqualified from the contest for “being a smartass” 
on August 6th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Well, you’re not generating them so you can’t call it generateAllTwoWordAnagramsOfTheWordDocumenting! Also, looking at your code, there is nothing in there to tell me where you got those two word anagrams from.
A better name would be:
getEightPairsOfWordsFromTheWordDocumentingFromTheAir=
["ceding mount", "document gin", "condign mute", "induct gnome",
"coming tuned", "gnomic tuned", "cumin tonged", "cum denoting"]
You fail!
on August 6th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Sharfah, I’ll concede your first point. “get” is better than “generate”. I’m not sure I agree with the second though. You don’t need to know where I got the words from
on August 6th, 2008 at 10:01 am
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on August 6th, 2008 at 10:02 am
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on August 6th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
even though you got disqualified I’m still rooting for you to win the contest.
I’m really am in the “less comment is good” camp.. but I don’t really think that no comment at all is good..
anyway.. since they arbitrary chose the word “documenting” rather than say create a program that can take any word and create a 2 word anagram, using the word documenting as an example, it really means that the best way to do the program is your way..