Nested function call: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:01, 15 May 2020

A convention used in many programming languages (python, javascript, C, liquidsoap)

When you see:

foo(bar(baz()))

In fact what happens is:

baz() gets called, and it's output * is used as input to:
bar( * ) which gets call, and it's output ** sent as input to:
foo ( ** )

Using temporary variables, the chain of events could also be written:

x = baz()
y = bar(x)
z = foo(y)

Note that although written differently (in a more linear fashion), the resulting program does exactly the same thing. Since it's more compact, and doesn't introduce temporary variables, programmers tend to write:

result = foo(bar(baz()))

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
   foo(bar(baz()))
 In fact what happens is:
-* baz() gets called, and it's output * send as input to:
+* baz() gets called, and it's output * is used as input to:
 * bar( * ) which gets call, and it's output ** sent as input to:
 * foo ( ** )
-Using temporary variables, the whole process could also be written:
+Using temporary variables, the chain of events could also be written:
   x = baz()
@@ Line 18: / Line 17: @@
   z = foo(y)
-But since it's more compact, programmers tend to write:
+Note that although written differently (in a more linear fashion), the resulting program does exactly the same thing. Since it's more compact, and doesn't introduce temporary variables, programmers tend to write:
   result = foo(bar(baz()))
-Which often is more readable since you use less variable names, thus reducing ''cognitive overload''.