24 February 2014

Beyond specific technical jargon (“loop,” “thread,” “iteration”), the language of programming languages is rich in strange, historically-specific colloquialisms. Here are 7 you might not know…

Spaghetti Code

noun

1. pejoritave term for code whose flow of execution is muddled, often associated with poor usage of the GOTO keyword. I was going to give her write access to my repo, but I hear she writes spaghetti code.

See also: Ravioli Code, Lasagna Code, Spaghetti With Meatballs Code, Macaroni Code

Syntactic Sugar

noun

1. optional syntax in a programming language that makes code more readable, consice or otherwise sweeter for the humans that interact with it. I take my [syntactic] sugar with coffee and cream.

# Salty
def keep_parantheses(on); end
[].<<("Something")
4.+(4)
4.%(4)

# Sweet
def leave_parentheses off; end
[] << "Something Else"
4 + 4
4 % 4

Duck Typing

noun

1. A style of dynamic typing where an object’s type is defined by what it can do rather than what it is (i.e. its class).

etymology: From the popular saying, “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.”

class Duck 
  def quack; "quack!"; end
end

class Dog
  def quack; "woofquack!"; end
end

ducks = [Duck.new, Dog.new]
ducks.each { |duck| duck.quack }
#=> ["quack!", "woofquack!"]

Duck Punching

noun

1. Modifying code at runtime (e.g. overriding methods, attributes) without changing the underlying source code.

etymology: From the popular saying, “If it looks like a duck, but barks like a dog at runtime, you must have punched it.” ;)

class Duck 
  def quack; "quack!"; end
end

# later, at runtime...
class Duck
  def quack; "woof, ouch!"; end
end

Duck.new.quack
#=> "woof, ouch!"

Twiddle-Wakka

noun

1. Mysterious squiggle-carrot operator (also known as the pessimistic operator) used to specify versions in ruby Gemfiles. I see your twiddle-wakka, and raise you a scope resolution operator.

source 'https://rubygems.org'

gem 'rails'
gem 'sqlite3'
gem 'pry'

#...

#Highest version >= 3.2.1 and < 3.3.0
gem 'sapphire', '~> 3.2.1'

#Highest version >= 2.1 and < 2.2
gem 'diamond', '~> 2.1'

Shaving A Yak

gerandial noun

1. The state of being engaged in an activity that is remotely related to the original task at hand, often after a long chain of troubleshooting digressions. I intended to shave a yak, but pretty soon, I was filing my taxes.

def make_dinner
  buy_ingredients
end
def buy_ingrediens
  earn_money
end
def earn_money
  shave_yak
end
def shave_yak 
  raise "Gross, what am I even doing?"
end

Easter Egg

noun

1. Inside jokes and other funny superfluous tidbits intentionally left in source code by developers for other developers to find.

class hidden_treasure
  def initialize
#      .-"-.
#    .'=^=^='.
#   /=^=^=^=^=\
#  :^= HAPPY =^;      Can you spot the Easter egg
#  |^ EASTER! ^|       in this source code?
#  :^=^=^=^=^=^:  
#   \=^=^=^=^=/
#    `.=^=^=.'
#      `~~~`
  end
end