The Life of a Programmer

Why switch is better than if-else

In Ben’s post, he questions whether switch statements are cleaner than if-else chains. I contend they are, because they better express the semantics of the

1/2 Should Not Equal Zero

There’s something wrong when a language allows 1/2 to equal 0. It’s easy to understand why this happens, and perhaps it’s even easy to forgive

What is a System Language?

Not all languages are made with the same purpose in mind. When it comes to designing a new language like Leaf, it’s important to choose

The syntax of a conditional

Conditionals are a key construct in programming: from the simple if statement, to loops and switches, and even to dynamic mapping. The essence of program