User blog:RottenBlock/Mamanyonyo Code Oddities

Some of the time I can't decide if the weird shit in this code is the fault of the programmer or the fault of System 4. Like, it's pretty clear the programmer is a bit of a slob, but even the sloppiest coder on earth doesn't have to do backhanded stuff like I find in here.

For example, why, when he wants to add a single character to a string, does he add a hyphen, and then change the hyphen to the actual character he wanted to add in the first place?

Or when he wants to do a while loop. While loops, like in most languages, have their exit conditions written right there next to the word "while." But this guy writes an infinite while loop immediately followed by an "if" statement with a "break" inside, testing the conditions for exiting the while loop? It's the programming equivalent of writing in incredibly stilted English.

One thing I've learned is that System 4 didn't start with a lot of the basic functions it now has. For example, Mamanyonyo relies on a DLL for extremely basic string functions, like getting a string's length or converting from int. Sys4 can do all of that on its own now. There are also DLLs for reading from files, arrays, and other basics now a part of the language. What's funny is that Sys4 is actually an extremely limited language in comparison to Sys3, probably because it can use DLLs to add to its functionality, so it's funny to think that it used to be even simpler.

That's why I can't be certain the other weirdness in this post is really the programmer's fault. Maybe the original Sys4 didn't have proper while loops, only infinite loops. And maybe adding a hyphen and then replacing it might be some roundabout way to deal with string weirdness. I can't know, but it's irritating, since beyond being weird, it makes the code hard to read. Sometimes I think I should fix it (I wouldn't doubt that if you replaced all these DLL calls to their modern equivalent, the game would run a microscopic bit faster), but what's the point?