2022-10-25

homepage/blah/index.html

@@ -16,6 +16,68 @@ ideas' witlessness;
 ideas' witnesses;
 ideas-
 
+2022-10-25
+
+	i am logical, if not for time
+
+	In C conditional logic is usually expressed in if statements. The very
+narrow textbook example of this is thus:
+
+if (condition) {
+	do_something();
+} else {
+	do_another_thing();
+}
+
+	I don't like this. There are a couple of supposed truths within this
+example that are false:
+	- brackets are necessary for the if statement body (they aren't)
+	- ifs are the only way to perform conditional logic in C (they aren't)
+	  this may not be stated outright in the example, but it's implicit in
+	  that it's the only way textbooks will show much logic
+
+	This "blah" doesn't exist to express solid facts, just my loose and
+flimsy opinions and experiences.
+
+	Here are four ways to do something in C that are each functionally
+identical to each other:
+
+bool aisfive(bool c, int *a) {
+	if (c == 1) {
+		*a = 5;
+	} else {
+		*a = 6;
+	}
+
+	return a;
+}
+
+bool aisfive(bool c, int *a) {
+	if(c)
+		*a = 5;
+	else
+		*a = 6;
+
+	return a;
+}
+
+bool aisfive(bool c, int *a) {
+	*a = c ? 5 : 6;
+
+	return a;
+}
+
+bool aisfive(bool c, int *a) {
+	*a = 5 + !c;
+
+	return a;
+}
+
+	I prefer the bottom-most example but the difference won't matter to a
+good compiler. To me, algebraic expression is just as good as if-else
+expression. But I'm an Internet crank that's still programming in C.
+
+
 2022-10-24
 
 	i will twerk now, get in the conga line