Re: [xsl] How to never make mistakes when coding?

["Chris Papademetrious christopher.papademetrious@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Roger,

I like mechanisms that let me efficiently capture and validate my assumptions
while coding bin the momentb, such as type annotations and assertions.
These capture more coding errors than I would like to admit.


  *   Chris


From: Dimitre Novatchev dnovatchev@xxxxxxxxx
<xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 1, 2025 1:45 PM
To: xsl-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [xsl] How to never make mistakes when coding?

> How to avoid making mistakes? Is it even possible?

It depends on the definition of "mistake" ...

If "mistake" means any case where one's expectations contradict reality, then
again we have the same problem, because now we need to define "reality"...

And probably, regardless of how we define "reality", reality is not constant
and is undergoing changes, the rules for which are probably part of a "higher
reality", ..., and so on.

Not so theoretically, our learning process is essentially recognizing an error
(a mismatch with reality), solving the problem of not committing this error
again, and repeating this over and over again, iteratively.

So, if one doesn't commit mistakes, this person is not learning and not
progressing - probably they are already "dead".

We must welcome new errors whose analysis and correction makes us wiser.

We do have a problem when we do not learn from errors and repeat them again
and again all the time. And of course, the worst errors are the ones that we
don't see at all.

To return to the highlighted question above:
To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the
biggest mistake of all
(https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/peter_mcwilliams_385687<https://urldefens
e.com/v3/__https:/www.brainyquote.com/quotes/peter_mcwilliams_385687__;!!A4F2
R9G_pg!fhTQjGW-cBmoGI-axD9rI9ZEcRmhJdIL6IcDAAlIyfmHwI55qVr8x_xZyEJiimifufNPam
cch9-vKRf9zuuQDBFR4Z1bPpnuB8zNgRn35nY4lFLKlZvI$>)

And another one in Bulgarian: "PQP5P:P0P;P5P= Q
P2P5QP5Q P8 P1P>P3Q P=P5
P5 P4QP0P3." My translation: Even God doesn't like a perfectionist-saint. It
would be good to know what corresponding proverb(s) exists in English :)

Thanks,
Dimitre.

On Sat, Mar 1, 2025 at 6:49b/AM Roger L Costello
costello@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:costello@xxxxxxxxx>
<xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:xsl-list-service@xxxxxxxxxxxx
rytech.com>> wrote:
Hi Folks,

A few days ago I found a mistake in my code. The input data to my code
contained a sequence of records and my code should iterate over all the
records after the first record. I wrote this:

<xsl:for-each select="/root/record[position() gt 2">

See the mistake?

I should have written position() ge 2 or position() gt 1

That mistake had been in my code for weeks. It was only a few days ago that I
accidentally discovered it.

"How could I have made such a simple, basic mistake? Was it a lapse in
attention? I asked myself.

How to avoid making mistakes? Is it even possible?

One part of me thinks, "You are human. Humans make mistakes. It's part of our
psychological makeup. Accept that you will always make mistakes. The remedy
for mistakes is to find good ways--testing, validation--to identify the
mistakes and then fix them."

I don't like that. I'm an optimist--if there's a problem, then there's a
solution.

 Perhaps if I had extreme discipline, then I could have mistake-free code?
Perhaps if I had no mental lapses when coding, then I could have mistake-free
code? Perhaps if I adhered rigorously to some programming practice (e.g.,
literate programming), then I could have mistake-free code?

Perhaps if I had a tool that generates code, then I could have mistake-free
code?

Perhaps code that is rooted in algorithms--do step 1, then step 2, then step3,
etc.--will always lead to code with mistakes? Perhaps the declarative
approach--state what is, not how to do it--is the path to mistake-free code?

Have you thought about these types of questions? What answers did you come up
with?

/Roger


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