> Like having to declare a constant for the number of cents in a euro/dollar.
I agree with your point, but this is a bad example. Naming these constant CentsInEuro and CentsInUSDollar is consistent with the style guide.
As silly these examples are in isolation (of course a cent is 1/100 of a euro or a dollar), if you are writing code that processes currencies beyond euro and dollars, you will quickly end up with (using Chinese Yuan as an example):
const (
JiaoInCNYuan = 10
FenInCNYuan = 100
...
)
At which point adding
const (
CentsInUSDollar = 100
CentsInEuro = 100
...
)
is not just reasonable but a good idea.
Additionally, suppose your code needs to deal with historical currencies, you'll most likely need:
const (
ShillingsInOldBritishPound = 20
PenceInOldBritishShilling = 12
...
)
This is also a good example that the knowledge that a cent is 1/100 of a dollar or euro is highly culture-dependent. A British programmer from as late as 1970 will tell you that it's silly to create constants for these:
of course there are 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pence in a shilling, everyone knows that! (I also like to think that they'd assume that a "cent" is 100 dollars because that's what centum means in Latin, but it's probably highly unlikely for them to never know US dollars and cents.)
I agree with your point, but this is a bad example. Naming these constant CentsInEuro and CentsInUSDollar is consistent with the style guide.
As silly these examples are in isolation (of course a cent is 1/100 of a euro or a dollar), if you are writing code that processes currencies beyond euro and dollars, you will quickly end up with (using Chinese Yuan as an example):
At which point adding is not just reasonable but a good idea.Additionally, suppose your code needs to deal with historical currencies, you'll most likely need:
This is also a good example that the knowledge that a cent is 1/100 of a dollar or euro is highly culture-dependent. A British programmer from as late as 1970 will tell you that it's silly to create constants for these: of course there are 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pence in a shilling, everyone knows that! (I also like to think that they'd assume that a "cent" is 100 dollars because that's what centum means in Latin, but it's probably highly unlikely for them to never know US dollars and cents.)