An instance of Category Humor.
Richard Suchenwirth 2006-01-28 - Exhibit A was found in the waste-paper bin of a defunct software company:
##################################################################
#
#
# add.tcl
#
# Implemented function:
#
# add
#
# Usage: add a b
#
# Input:
# a a number
# b another number
#
# Output:
#
# The sum of the numbers
#
# Side effects:
#
# None
#
# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
# "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
# LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
# A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL ACME SOFTWARE
# DESIGN L.L.C. OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
# INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING,
# BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS
# OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
# ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR
# TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE
# USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
# DAMAGE.
#
#####################################################################
proc add { a b } \
{
set sum [ expr "$a" * "$b" ];
return $sum;
};
#####################################################################
#
# Test suite:
#
# add 0 0 == 0
#
# add 2 2 == 4
#
# Passed on Apr 1, 2005 - phb
#
#####################################################################Acknowledgement: part of the documentation (the LEGALESE) was copied from tclCarbonProcesses, which however does not imply that the said page is in any material or immaterial connection with the defunct company :^)
Lars H: Yuck! A really gross coding style -- no wonder the company went belly-up (well, one can at least meekly hope that "who evil does he evil fares" even in the dotcom era). You're wrong about the test suite though -- e.g. [add 3 1.5] should pass without any problem. However, had the specs said "int" instead of "number" then it would have been another matter ...
RS: True indeed. I moved the note down to here, it said: "Note also that the test suite is absolutely maximal - you can't add any test without getting failures..." The question boils down to solutions for
a + b = a * b
which can be transformed to
b = a / (a-1)
and there's indeed infinitely many solutions - examples:
a b 0 0 1 undefined, divide by zero 2 2 3 1.5 5 1.25 101 1.01 ...
So even bad jokes can lead to good mathematical excursions... :^)
AvL: Does it need to be mentioned that the code itself is an example of bad style, because of the unbraced expression? Probably not :-) - RS: The code intentionally contains all bad features I could think of. Canonically, it would be
proc add {a b} {expr {$a + $b}}willdye Those who enjoyed this page might also find http://thedailywtf.com/ amusing.