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Let Regexes Write Your Code For You

camsaul.com
7 pointscammsaul5 comments
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It is so much better idea to use meta-programming to solve this problem – https://github.com/excilys/androidannotations/wiki/Injecting...

This. I don't mind writing this code from a mechanical perspective (copy, paste, and a few single-token replacements per line) nearly as much as I mind reading, debugging, and being forced to rewrite this kind of nauseatingly boilerplate code.

Ironically, my most recent use of regexps has been finding such boilerplate and simplifying it by using newer, cleaner APIs so I can remove the old terrible ones. Let Regexes Delete that code for you.

Indeed. It's likely just my Rubyist side talking, but the OP's example sets off my DRY alarms something terrible.

Is this new or novel? I do this all the time with VIM regexes...

But you and I use real editors (I use Emacs). Users of these silly IDEs aren't used to their editor making their life easier.

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