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Should if… then… else… follow the dodo?
Author(s) -
Atkinson L. V.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
software: practice and experience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1097-024X
pISSN - 0038-0644
DOI - 10.1002/spe.4380090902
Subject(s) - construct (python library) , computer science , artificial intelligence , c programming language , natural language processing , programming language , software
Some recent papers provide a psychological evaluation of two conditional constructs similar to those occurring in some popular computer programming languages. The findings indicate that the if… then… else… form is superior to the branch‐to‐label approach but that the former is not without disadvantages. The papers propose an alternative construction which has been evaluated and found to be superior to both the aforementioned styles. It is claimed that the preferred construct is not available in any language in practical use. This paper applauds the work done by these experimental psychologists and supports their conclusions but suggests that improvement of their favoured construct is possible. Further, it is shown that there is a widely available programming language which not only provides a construct closely resembling their own but also accommodates the improvement.