From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,4b06f8f15f01a568 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: fac41,9a0ff0bffdf63657 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public From: jdege@jdege.visi.com (Jeffrey C. Dege) Subject: Re: Module size (was Re: Software landmines) Date: 1998/09/04 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 387674031 References: <6rfra4$rul$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <35DBDD24.D003404D@calfp.co.uk> <6sbuod$fra$1@hirame.wwa.com> <904556531.666222@miso.it.uq.edu.au> <6sgror$je8$3@news.indigo.ie> <6sh3qn$9p2$1@hirame.wwa.com> <6simjo$jnh$1@hirame.wwa.com> <6sjk3p$4tc$1@hirame.wwa.com> <6skgn4$3gq$1@hirame.wwa.com> <35EF3158.5097@sig.please> X-Complaints-To: abuse@visi.com X-Trace: ptah.visi.com 904869692 209.98.6.59 (Thu, 03 Sep 1998 19:41:32 CDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 03 Sep 1998 19:41:32 CDT Newsgroups: comp.lang.eiffel,comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada Date: 1998-09-04T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: On Fri, 04 Sep 1998 10:16:24 +1100, Chris Kuan wrote: >Jeffrey C. Dege wrote: >> [...] When I tell him that we have >> 63 methods that contain zero lines of code, he wants to know why we >> bothered to write them in the first place, if they don't do anything. >> >> I can't think of a short answer. > >How about "because they one day might"? > >That's a bit glib, I know, but maybe there's some truth >to it in your situation which your manager will recognise. No, that's not it. We have empty methods because we have a method in an inheritence hierarchy that should nothing when invoked on the base class directly, but should definitely do something when invoked on objects of certain derived classes. There's no "some day" involved. Then, of course, there are our empty virtual destructors, and constructors that do nothing but pass arguments to their parent constructors (which the tool I was using counted as having zero lines of code, because there was nothing between '{' and '}'). -- "[I]n fact, I didn't know that cats _could_ grin." "They all can," said the Duchess; "and most of 'em do." "I don't know of any that do," Alice said very politely, feeling quite pleased to have gotten into a conversation. "You don't know much," said the Duchess; "and that's a fact."