Matthew Melachrinos: 10 PRINT CHR$

[mattmelachrinos]

I had really mixed feelings about looking at this line of code as art. It felt like looking for meaning in something where no meaning exists (reading tea leaves, etc.). Then I started thinking about constellations, and how the stars really aren't in any of the shapes we've drawn them in yet they bring so much value and intrigue. They have also been practically useful in navigation. With this new perspective, looking for patterns and dissecting the code didn't feel quite as weird. I still have some reservations but it's obvious that there are reasons to do it.

I found myself thinking the most about the {SPACE} section. The whole purpose of spaces in code is to improve the code for the programmers, not the computer. In many languages, whitespace is ignored by the compiler, so BASIC isn't unique here. This topic is often what I would think of when I think of beautiful code. Readability is what I would consider what makes something "good" code above all else. Code that is readable is maintainable. Unmaintainable code, no matter how efficient, is dangerous and will produce bugs. Code really needs to be a common language for a computer and human to speak in, it can't just be for the computer.

One thing I really didn't understand was the bit about line numbers. I guess back then programmers had to write their own line numbers? and the compiler actually looked at them? As far as I understand modern languages, line numbers are just an artifact for the programmer. They aren't actually stored in the code, just displayed next to it when the IDE/text editor displays the code.