01-10-2006, 09:05 AM
Well, many seasoned programmers aim for terseness when writing code, usually because this leads to clearer, and sometimes more elegant, code. Terseness, however, can be a liability; it took me a few minutes to decipher (pun intended) his algorithm, and I would have appreciated a short comment. It can be digested, if chewed.
In his case, I think splitting up the loop would actually make the code less clear, since it would detract from the main things that are being accomplished: 1. calculating an encryption key, and 2. encrypting the text. Splitting it up, IMO, would require additional helper functions, so that the encryption code could be kept on the same level of abstraction (1. and 2., instead of 1a., 1b., 2.).
In his case, I think splitting up the loop would actually make the code less clear, since it would detract from the main things that are being accomplished: 1. calculating an encryption key, and 2. encrypting the text. Splitting it up, IMO, would require additional helper functions, so that the encryption code could be kept on the same level of abstraction (1. and 2., instead of 1a., 1b., 2.).
stylin: