>From Symeon: 
> Yes but this is really really really really really 
> basic stuff - if you have to think for more than a 
> second on this type of construct maybe you should not 
> be a programmer ??

Symeon, I don't think so.  Real programmers recognize all kinds
of structures, and the brain adjusts with the flow.  Maybe I'm
just getting older but sometimes my eyes lock onto some line or
clause where I need to think harder about the exact ramifications
of some expression or logic.  What data might cause that code to
do something awkward?  What data might pass to the else clause?

Another example of this "brain stutter" is when you get to a Call
or Gosub statement.  The mind has to come out of the code for a
moment as you go through the mechanics of scrolling to the
subroutine or opening a window for another code item.  Those of
us who work with OOP need to do this a LOT more, and this is one
of the things that makes OOP more time consuming than top-down
code, even though the structure is perceived as more elegant.

Some people apparently have brains that toggle IF NOT ELSE faster
than others.  But apparently this construct is of concern to some
people, whether as a matter of elegance or a matter of coding
effectiveness.  Recognizing this, the more I can eliminate those
lines where I or someone else needs to "brain stutter" out of the
flow, the better I think the code is.

And with that in mind, I just squashed an occurrence of this in
my own code.  So once again this forum has provided value. :)

Best,
T


> From: Tony Gravagno
> I think the objection is to this:
> 
> IF A # B THEN FOO ELSE BAR
> 
> It's that Not/Else thing that can bend the brain.
> 
> I think most people prefer:
> 
> IF A = B THEN FOO ... We know what it is, so do this.
> ELSE BAR ... do this if the value is unexpected.

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