CodeSOD: Do a Flip

Kendall found some recently written code, and had to wonder, "Who wrote this crap?" Much to Kendall's disappointment, source control knew who wrote it: Kendall.

if (x < 0.0){ x += 0.0 - x; width -= 0.0 - x;}

Kendall didn't share the purpose of this code, but based on starting with a less-than-zero check, I suspect the goal was to do something akin to an absolute value. If x is less than zero, make it positive.

That's certainly what was attempted. 0.0 - x, where x < 0 would be the same as x * -1. Unfortunately, Kendall added that to x, making x zero.

As with a disappointingly large quantity of bad code, this got committed without any tests, rolled out to production, and created head-scratching bugs for months. Eventually, the bugs became annoying enough that they bubbled up to the top of the priority list, and Kendall was tasked with fixing them.

The other reason I think the goal was essentially an absolute value operation is Kendall's commentary:

Aside from the major bug, this code is a sure indicator of overthinking things.

It is an overly complex way to flip the sign, yes. But "overthinking?"

The line between overthinking and underthinking is a thin line indeed.

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