1 big or many little

[mark mitchell]

Richard wrote:

> Whether it's delared as "local" or "static" or "scriptLocal" or 
> something
> else or simply called "bob", the important thing is the key role this 
> new
> variable type can play in simplifying code and encouraging code reuse.  
> It
> took me a while to get comfortable with them, but they've radically 
> changed
> my code style.
>
Well, since we have "handler local" and "script local"....can't we have 
a "stack local" ?  That would solve the 'meshing globals' problem and 
absolve the need for a rev 'player'.

Miscdas wrote:

[Mark]
"The savings in HD space for the 1 BIG method is laughable these days (I
just bought an 80 GB HD for $150) and the savings in RAM is rapidly 
becoming
laughable."

[Miscdas]

I believe that this kind of thinking can too easily lead one unwittingly
down the path of poor programming. It becomes easy to do inefficient
"quick-and-dirty" that works for a small program because the 
inefficiencies
are "covered" by all the available RAM and disk space. Through habit, 
these
sloppy methods become the norm, and when it's time to do a big project
requiring utmost efficiency, we're at a serious disadvantage from not 
having
learned the efficient methods on the small, easy programs.

[Mark]

Agreed, but remember, not all of us here are real 'programmers'. For 
example, I am, if I'm anything, a scientist.  So my priorities are 
probably radically different from yours, and I can't really envision the 
day when I will have a project requiring utmost efficiency in terms of 
computer power.  I know my code is often sloppy, but it gets MY job done 
and thats how I measure my 'efficiency'.  Also, if you follow your 
argument to the logical extreme, you probably shouldn't be programming 
in this big, bloated engine anyway, but rather using some crisp, lean, 
lower level language.  But we all know that, in the long run, that 
probably turns out to be a lot less efficient.  So just look in the 
mirror and say to yourself, "A little slop is OK, and damn it, people 
like me...."

Thanks to all for your input on this thread.  I'll have to mull it all 
over.

mark mitchell
Japan