Hacker News Reader

Comment by laserlight | Hacker News Reader

I’ve just found one. Shortening “input” to “inp” [0] is a big no.

[0] https://github.com/dabeaz/blog/blob/main/2023/three-problems...

Guess it's pretty decent code when the point of contention is about a single variable name being abbreviated.

This was the first and most obvious problem I found upon looking for a few seconds. I don't know if this is the only issue with the code.

The symbol "input" is a Python built-in.

Good catch. I would prefer shadowing an unused built-in over using “inp”. Alternatively, “input_” should do fine.

Don't shadow. Just don't. We've got enough variable names in the universe. :)

Strong agree. To clarify, I wouldn't shadow. I wouldn't use “inp” either.

One fairly common convention is to suffix with `_` to avoid shadowing, e.g. `input_`

Please don't shadow ever :(

Man..

shadowing is what instantly would have me reject a peer review. there is literally no excuse.

inp is just standard in python, along with uin (user input), or sometimes also raw or iraw.

You cannot win this battle. There is nothing wrong with 'inp'

That’s seriously the glaring issue you’ve found? It’s a tutorial ffs. Have you actually done code reviews professionally?

I didn't say it was a glaring issue. But, unnecessary cognitive burden on the reader is unacceptable.

> Have you actually done code reviews professionally?

Yes, I did.

That's the silliest thing for you to bikeshed about.

In a serious code review, that isn't even a starter of an issue, if you have context surrounding that variable. Furthermore `input` is an actual Python function, and shortening an example for learning purposes is not the same as asking other people do the same in production code.

haha you should see the code review comments at my <current job>. Random people spend hours bickering over variable names, while completely overlooking real issues in the code and rubberstamping their friends. It's like a friggin cult.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com