Call By Name vs Call By Value
Developers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations meets developers should learn call by value to understand how data is passed in functions, which is crucial for writing predictable and bug-free code, especially when dealing with immutable data or avoiding unintended side effects. Here's our take.
Call By Name
Developers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations
Call By Name
Nice PickDevelopers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations
Pros
- +It is useful in scenarios where arguments might be expensive to compute or have side effects that should only occur if the parameter is actually used, improving performance and enabling more expressive programming patterns like short-circuiting in logical operators
- +Related to: scala, lambda-calculus
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
Call By Value
Developers should learn call by value to understand how data is passed in functions, which is crucial for writing predictable and bug-free code, especially when dealing with immutable data or avoiding unintended side effects
Pros
- +It is commonly used in languages like C for passing basic types (e
- +Related to: call-by-reference, parameter-passing
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
Use Call By Name if: You want it is useful in scenarios where arguments might be expensive to compute or have side effects that should only occur if the parameter is actually used, improving performance and enabling more expressive programming patterns like short-circuiting in logical operators and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.
Use Call By Value if: You prioritize it is commonly used in languages like c for passing basic types (e over what Call By Name offers.
Developers should learn call by name when working with languages that support lazy evaluation or need to delay computation until necessary, such as in Scala for implementing custom control structures or avoiding unnecessary evaluations
Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev