User Winston Ewert

217 votes

Why do programmers write closed source applications and then make them free?

answered Sep 13, 2010 at 14:03

117 votes

Accepted

What's wrong with relative imports in Python?

answered Aug 4, 2012 at 15:36

81 votes

Accepted

What is the purpose of NaN boxing?

answered Jan 31, 2013 at 15:36

60 votes

Why are semicolons and commas interchanged in for loops?

answered Apr 21, 2013 at 21:38

57 votes

Accepted

Documentation in OOP should avoid specifying whether or not a "getter" performs any computation?

answered Aug 26, 2013 at 18:39

44 votes

Dynamic Code Evaluation in Java - Clever or Sloppy?

answered Mar 26, 2015 at 15:36

41 votes

Accepted

Should I really use all uppercase for my constants?

answered Feb 20, 2017 at 19:39

38 votes

Why are eval-like features considered evil, in contrast to other possibly harmful features?

answered Mar 1, 2016 at 17:19

37 votes

Accepted

A Class named Class?

answered Mar 1, 2012 at 5:06

35 votes

Accepted

Champaign Fountain Puzzle

answered Jan 27, 2013 at 23:40

34 votes

I've been told that Exceptions should only be used in exceptional cases. How do I know if my case is exceptional?

answered Jan 24, 2013 at 14:57

31 votes

Accepted

Event-driven programming: when is it worth it?

answered Mar 12, 2016 at 22:03

30 votes

When are enums NOT a code smell?

answered Oct 16, 2015 at 22:54

28 votes

Accepted

Is it okay to fake part of the class under test?

answered Sep 11, 2011 at 0:36

27 votes

Do else blocks increase code complexity?

answered Sep 6, 2014 at 1:50

27 votes

Accepted

Are we abusing static methods?

answered Mar 7, 2016 at 22:35

27 votes

Accepted

An older, experienced contractor used an SQLite DB for various queues - am I, a young dev, justified with feeling uncomfortable with it?

answered Jan 27, 2020 at 18:35

26 votes

Accepted

Why doesn't ES6 have thin-arrow functions?

answered Dec 29, 2015 at 16:37

26 votes

Good design: How much hackyness is acceptable?

answered Aug 9, 2011 at 22:33

25 votes

Why do beginners still write SQL? Why do we not push them to use a higher level abstraction?

answered Dec 31, 2017 at 1:39

24 votes

Time difference between developing with unit tests vs no tests

answered Jun 15, 2016 at 4:17

24 votes

Should I create a class if my function is complex and has a lot of variables?

answered Sep 13, 2015 at 5:23

23 votes

How to implement a Weighted shuffle

answered Mar 25, 2014 at 3:27

23 votes

Prevent developers from using constants

answered Mar 6, 2013 at 17:25

21 votes

Accepted

What's the simplest example out there to explain the difference between Parse Trees and Abstract Syntax Trees?

answered Feb 6, 2012 at 4:43

20 votes

Accepted

TDD - is it just about unit tests?

answered Aug 9, 2011 at 18:55

20 votes

A weakness of the TDD method?

answered May 7, 2013 at 12:15

19 votes

Accepted

When and how should I use exceptions?

answered Dec 8, 2013 at 0:27

18 votes

Accepted

Using "catching exceptions" to improve readability, Good or Bad?

answered Nov 4, 2011 at 13:30

17 votes

Should temporary code be put under version control and how?

answered Jul 24, 2014 at 15:32

Stack Exchange Network

271 Answers

Why do programmers write closed source applications and then make them free?

What's wrong with relative imports in Python?

What is the purpose of NaN boxing?

Why are semicolons and commas interchanged in for loops?

Documentation in OOP should avoid specifying whether or not a "getter" performs any computation?

Dynamic Code Evaluation in Java - Clever or Sloppy?

Should I really use all uppercase for my constants?

Why are eval-like features considered evil, in contrast to other possibly harmful features?

A Class named Class?

Champaign Fountain Puzzle

I've been told that Exceptions should only be used in exceptional cases. How do I know if my case is exceptional?

Event-driven programming: when is it worth it?

When are enums NOT a code smell?

Is it okay to fake part of the class under test?

Do else blocks increase code complexity?

Are we abusing static methods?

An older, experienced contractor used an SQLite DB for various queues - am I, a young dev, justified with feeling uncomfortable with it?

Why doesn't ES6 have thin-arrow functions?

Good design: How much hackyness is acceptable?

Why do beginners still write SQL? Why do we not push them to use a higher level abstraction?

Time difference between developing with unit tests vs no tests

Should I create a class if my function is complex and has a lot of variables?

How to implement a Weighted shuffle

Prevent developers from using constants

What's the simplest example out there to explain the difference between Parse Trees and Abstract Syntax Trees?

TDD - is it just about unit tests?

A weakness of the TDD method?

When and how should I use exceptions?

Using "catching exceptions" to improve readability, Good or Bad?

Should temporary code be put under version control and how?