SMOSLT.options – Ordering By Name Feature

Sometimes sequence of options matters.

Example:

  • Evaluate Continuous Integration
  • Evaluate …A
  • Evaluate …B

Might not produce the same comparison as

  • Evaluate …B
  • Evaluate …C
  • Evaluate Continuous Integration

To solve this problem and others – use prefixing

Aa-MyOptionOne

Ab-MyOptionTwo

This makes option MyOptionOne always evaluate before MyOptionTwo

To really explain this you might need a lot more detail about what actually happens in a scoring module, for example the elimination of creation of future tasks.

You also need to explain how this does and does not integrate with or-group naming

You also need to explain that this is all visible in the IDE

You need to explain that they are going to have to expect to refactor names frequently so don’t fall in love with any name prefix like Bjc because it might need to be Kdd later to rework a sequence later

This also exemplifies the higher order rule that says there’s a lot of stuff we do in the IDE that other apps would do in much more refined and elegant ways. We could do them in refined and elegant ways too, but it would require additional levels of abstractions that we’re too cheap to do for free.

You also need to explain that it is permanent, and you can’t adjust it. This both solves, and causes lots of potential problems. You might sometimes wish to adjust option sequence. But to write the program to allow that would have so many consequences that it would break the KISS principle as relates to this software.