Re: what is the best way to 'unset' a variable
Re: what is the best way to 'unset' a variable
- Subject: Re: what is the best way to 'unset' a variable
- From: John W Baxter <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 22:07:38 -0800
At 19:16 -0800 3/22/2002, Paul Berkowitz wrote:
>
Even with globals, which do still keep their value at the
>
end of a script, until it's run again. They will _have_ to be reset by your
>
script before they're used again. (Otherwise they would have errored
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"variable is not defined": the first time).
>
>
In the case of properties, just reset them to whatever their initial value
>
is at the top of the script. Although if you don't want properties to
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persist, why declare them as properties in the first place?
>
>
there is no advantage or disadvantage to initializing x to any one of your
>
options in preference to any other. And - as far as I know - no advantage to
>
"unsetting" hem at all. Just leave them be.
If a global is large (a long string, etc), then there is an advantage to
clearing it before reaching the end of the script: the script file on disk
will be smaller if the large string is "cleared" than if it isn't. I
think: experiment.
I'd clear the value based on what's there: if it's a string, I would use
""; if it's a number I wouldn't bother, but if I did I'd use 0 or 0.0; if
it's a --possibly large-- list or record I'd use {}, etc.
Missing value might (or might not) be four bytes shorter than "" or 0, and
8 bytes shorter than 0.0, but who cares...we're after the difference
between 100K and a few bytes, not a 4 byte difference.
--John
--
John Baxter email@hidden Port Ludlow, WA, USA
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