SPAM-MED: Re: Time to upgrade my technique...

[J. Landman Gay]

Richard Gaskin wrote:

> If teaching with fields works, by all means keep doing it.
> 

I think I'd start with teaching fields so they can get the concepts 
down, but then move pretty quickly to using variables so they learn to 
program efficiently. There's no good reason to teach poor programming 
practices.

Moving data in and out of fields is one of the slowest, most inefficient 
things you can do in Rev, so it's good practice to do as little of it as 
possible. While it is true that today's computers are fast, parsing a 
large field by repeatedly accessing and replacing its contents will be 
very slow if there is any substantial text in it.

Richard, you wrote a great explanation of this on the list some time 
ago. I wonder if you still have it. Something about moving things around 
in the janitor's closet every time you needed to get the cleaning fluid 
or something.

-- 
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com