Magic Numbers as Variables
Explore the concept of magic numbers in C programming and understand why experienced developers avoid them. Learn how to use variables to replace magic numbers for clearer code intent and better maintainability. This lesson guides you through the idiomatic practice of naming magic numbers as variables and highlights considerations for maintaining reliable code.
We'll cover the following...
Problem Context
Experienced programmers avoid magic numbers. Magic numbers do not communicate the intent of the code very well and may confuse anyone trying to read or modify it. Traditionally, some numbers like 0, 1, 3.14, and 42 are considered less magical than others. Consider a variable that is initialized to 0. A reader immediately expects this to be a default initialization and the variable will probably be ...