Customizing the Compilation Process

摘要

I've tried to make it a point to learn different programming languages throughout my career. It's not that I'm fluent in multiple languages (for example, I wouldn't call myself an Eiffel expert by any stretch of the imagination), but by learning about a language's features and ideas I've been able to broaden my perspective. This has its benefits when I'm designing or implementing a piece of code, because I've able to add different ideas into the code base that don't exist in the feature set of the language. For example, Eiffel has the idea of design-by-contract, which allows you to define pre- and post-conditions along with class invariants in your code, ensuring that callers set their parameters correctly and guaranteeing that an object will always be in a certain state. I find those ideas beneficial in creating defensive, maintainable code.