if (instr(buf,sys_errlist[errno])) /* you don't see this */
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A conditional checks for an error string in a buffer, with a comment noting the code is invisible.
- In plain terms
- The code looks for an error message but is hidden.
- What can you take from it?
- Make error checks visible and maintainable.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why keep code that never executes?
- How to detect dead branches?
Another view
If the code never runs, it may be dead and should be removed.
More from Larry Wall
/* we have tried to make this normal case as abnormal as possible */
Permalink to quote #258 /* This bit of chicanery makes a unary function followed by a parenthesis into a function with one argument, highest precedence. */
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Permalink to quote #257
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