On 4/10/07, Rob Thorne <rob@torenware.com> wrote:
While I use these kind of array tricks all the time (love that table driven code), the advantage of the first form is readability. Unless code like that is called many times in a request, I'd still go with the ?: operator, since the intent is clearer.
Remember: we have to maintain this stuff after we write it.
Agreed.
On the other hand: I like dispatch arrays lots better than huge case statements. I suspect that these are not only faster, but easier to understand as well.
Huh, that's interesting. As someone who spent years maintaining a huge multi-process application written in assembly language -- where jump tables (dispatch arrays, essentially) are The Rule -- I find case statements much easier to read in most (not all) situations. I think that means we may not reach a consensus on readability for some such things.