My_JAVA_NoteBook

Programming language terms(derived from stackflow)

function

- purpose: process data, manipulate data, create result sets.
- when to use: always code a function if you want to do this: "y=f(x)"

struct/dict/json/etc (instead of class)

- purpose: store attr./param., maintain attr./param., reuse attr./param., use attr./param. later.
- when to use: if you deal with a set of attributes/params (preferably not mutable)
different languages same thing: struct (C/C++), JSON (js), dict (python), etc.
always prefer simple struct/dict/json/etc over complicated classes (keep it simple!)

class (if it is a new data type)

- a simple perspective: is a struct (C), dict (python), json (js), etc. with methods attached.
The method should only make sense in combination with the data/param stored in the class.
- advice: never code complex stuff inside class methods (call an external function instead)
- warning: do not misuse classes as fake namespace for functions! (this happens very often!)
other use cases: if you want to do a lot of operator overloading then use classes (e.g. your own matrix/vector multiplication class)
- ask yourself: is it really a new "data type"? (Yes => class | No => can you avoid using a class)

array/vector/list (to store a lot of data)

- purpose: store a lot of homogeneous data of the same data type, e.g. time series
- advice#1: just use what your programming language already have. do not reinvent it
- advice#2: if you really want your "class mysupercooldatacontainer", then overload an existing array/vector/list/etc class (e.g. "class mycontainer : public std::vector...")

enum (enum class)

- Enum are lists of constants.
- Purpose: When you need a predefined list of values.
- advice#1: use enum plus switch-case instead of overcomplicated OOP design patterns
- advice#2: use finite state machines