I’m getting rather hacked off seeing boolean properties typed as strings. Stringly typed is a phrase I learnt off a post from the excellent Coding Horror blog and it describes a phenomena whereby properties that are of a specific type, e.g. Boolean, Date, int, are stored needlessly as strings.
I’m working on a website that communicates with a money laundering service to check whether an individual is “bad” or not. Individuals can pass the test, but importantly it is possible to pass the test with some warning flags raised. If any of the warning flags are raised then an email should be sent off to compliance for them to do…whatever it is they do. Fair enough right?
The warning flags are obviously booleans. There was either a warning raised or there wasn’t – there are no two ways about it (no pun intended). In the serialized response, the warning flags are encoded as “Yes” or “No”…which is understandable. Now, upon receiving the response, it is parsed and turned into an internal representation. This is where things get really weird. The programmer that coded the object that stores the response from the service has decided to encode the warnings as strings, initialised to “”. Which is totally fucking bonkers.
Why?
Well, now our boolean warnings aren’t really booleans – they have WAY more than two possible values and the meaning of these values is subjective. One may consider “”, null, “No” as false, but could conceivably also consider “false” or “0″. We get the same sort of problem with true – “Yes”, “1″, “true” and then we get a whole load of unknown values which is every other possible string in the world. Which might be considered to be true.
So how the hell can any number of programmers work on this piece of code without introducing errors because of differing definitions of truthy and falsey values? Well, they can’t. To illustrate the problem further, even loosely typed languages differ in their boolean coercion, for example JavaScript and PHP:
<script>
if("0") alert('Opposite day!');
</script>
<?php
if("0") echo 'Opposite day!';
?>
JavaScript considers “0″ true but PHP considers it false. Personally I think JavaScript is “right” here, but as I said before, it is totally subjective.
The icing on the cake is of course the extra code you have to write to check the truthy or falsey string values. Something along the lines of “if x is not null and not empty and not the word No then it is probably true…probably”, which would otherwise have been coded as “if x then true” if x was a boolean – which is orders of magnitude shorter.
Of course, there are some bat shit crazy strongly typed languages that allow you to assign null to a Boolean, but that is a different story altogether.
Events – Simple interface, easy navigation, and content is approachable.
CoreStead info – Well-structured content that’s clear and readable.
Evening Meadow online corner – Layout is tidy, and exploring products feels easy.
Clear and honest store – Products are easy to find, with descriptions that feel real.
best ever free porn sex pictures
I was skeptical, but after half a year of using the bridge, the scalable features convinced me.
Serene boutique finds – Layout is simple and browsing flows effortlessly.
Inviting Golden Rift Store – Finding items is simple, and browsing is relaxing.
Evening Orchard Treasures – Navigation is smooth, and descriptions are helpful.
Explore 20Tekzader – Simple layout, pages respond fast, and content is easy to digest.
CoreWard info – Fast-loading pages and practical, credible information.
Hollow Creek Treasures – Navigation is smooth, products are visible and shopping is straightforward.
Fast and friendly store – Pages appear quickly, and the layout stays clean.
Ivory Branch Deals – Smooth experience and products are straightforward to find.
Charming Golden Shore Finds – Browsing feels effortless, and products look appealing.
Drift Pine treasures online – Browsing feels relaxed, and items seem carefully curated.
MF Collection – Smooth pages, well-organized products, and simple navigation.
Friendly Evening Tide Shop – Layout is simple, and products are well-presented.
Official CornerPeak – Clean interface with smooth browsing and well-laid-out pages.
Larkspur Boutique – Shopping is intuitive with clear product categories.
HollowRidge Emporium Online – Nice clean design, products are visible and shopping feels easy.
MF Picks – Fast navigation and enjoyable layout with clearly displayed items.
Handmade product hub – Quality is clear in every carefully made item.
Tide Select Emporium – Browsing feels effortless, and products are nicely displayed.
Charming Everbloom Picks – Navigation is simple, and products feel thoughtfully curated.
Driftstone Collective finds – The collection is unique, with clear photos and honest product details.
Cornerstone Axis info – Professional layout and smooth browsing make details easy to find.
CHB-AC Access Point – Smooth pages, minimal design, and information is easy to follow and digest.
Everoak Curated Corner – Products are easy to view, and pages load quickly.
LF Finds – Clear product categories and quick browsing.
Golden Threads – Navigation is easy and items feel high-quality.
Honey Fern Goods – Easy to navigate, items are nicely arranged and shopping feels smooth.
Stylish online boutique – Everything is arranged thoughtfully, making the shopping experience smooth.
Driftwood Lane online – Pages load fast, and products are easy to explore.
Covenant portal – Simple layout with information that’s easy to understand.
Charming Fog Harbor Shop – Layout is clean, and every item is easy to explore.
Moonfall Online Shop – Clean interface with products that are simple to explore.
Lighthouse Goods – Smooth experience with organized product listings.
Gold Vein Central – Easy to explore, clear product images, and smooth checkout.
Unique coastal boutique – Products are clearly displayed, making shopping pleasant and intuitive.
Coastal artisan corner – The site layout is clean, making exploration simple and enjoyable.
Inviting Frostline Store – The shop feels welcoming, and products are easy to explore.
CrestLink website – Smooth navigation and clearly written content make it accessible.
Edouard Chambost Access – Pages load fast, interface is neat, and content is readable and user-friendly.
Moonfall Select – Fast-loading pages and items feel thoughtfully chosen.
LW Picks – Smooth experience with well-described products.
Light Harbor Shop – Pleasant experience, shopping feels effortless and organized.
InkedMeadow Boutique – Clean layout, products are visually appealing and navigation is easy.
Testimonials – Clean structure, intuitive menus, and reading is effortless.
Emberfield boutique corner – Layout is tidy, making shopping simple and pleasant.