/* we have tried to make this normal case as abnormal as possible */
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A comment notes that the code tries to make a normal case as abnormal as possible, indicating intentional complexity.
- In plain terms
- The code deliberately complicates a normal situation.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid over‑engineering for clarity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is it acceptable to make code intentionally odd?
- How does this affect debugging?
Another view
Deliberate oddness can confuse future maintainers.
More from Larry Wall
Your csh still thinks true is false. Write to your vendor today and tell them that next year Configure ought to 'rm /bin/csh' unless they fix their blasted she…
Permalink to quote #257 You can't have filenames longer than 14 chars. You can't even think about them!
Permalink to quote #256 There is, however, a strange, musty smell in the air that reminds me of something...hmm...yes...I've got it...there's a VMS nearby, or I'm a Blit.
Permalink to quote #255
Related quotes
Make the suspension adjustable and they will adjust it wrong -- look what they can do to a Weber carburetor in just a few moments of stupidity with a screwdriv…
Colin ChapmanColin Chapman quote #3 A junkyard contains all the bits and pieces of a Boeing 747, dismembered and in disarray. A whirlwind happens to blow through the yard. What is the chance that…
Fred HoyleFred Hoyle quote #4 Simple things should be simple, complex things should be possible.
Alan KayAlan Kay quote #4