[xdennis]

I was on a team for a short while (Java programmers) and their frontend code was really overly "careful". For example, they would always check if a method existed, before calling it.

    var o = new SomeObject();

    if (o.computeSomething != null && o.computeSomething != undefined) {
       o.computeSomething(...);
    }

Their reasoning was that in JavaScript (with the old syntax) you just add functions to the prototype, so you could forget to do it or mistype it.

    SomeObject.prototype.computeSomethinnn = function () ...

I was sort of tripping over myself in objections to what they were doing:

* you shouldn't check for null or undefined, but rather do `o.computeSomething instanceof Function`

* there's no need to do `!= null` and `!= undefined` because `!=` (as opposed to `!==`) actually checks for both

* you shouldn't do the check at all because if you actually mistype the function name all you're doing is hiding the error. Failing sooner is better.

* a missing method should be picked up in the unit tests (but they didn't have any tests at all because "our system is too complex to be tested automatically")

* probably some others...

That team really hated JavaScript and their code showed it.

BTW, the indentation above is not wrong... they did indent by 3 spaces. I read a story about 3 space indents on thedailywtf.com and thought that it was clearly made up... after this team I believe it.

[bee_rider]

I set tabwidth to 3 in my editor. I like the way it looks. But of course the whole point of tabs is that nobody else has to suffer for my esoteric choice.

It also helped when tutoring new python students -- when they mixed space-indented code they copied from the internet with tab-indented code they copied from the internet, they'd get all sorts of fun errors. Setting the tabwidth to an even number sometimes allows them to hide. 3, though, really makes them stick out.

[beachy]

Sounds like hilarious passive aggressive behavior from java developers forced to interact with that devil's language JavaScript against their will.

[shepherdjerred]

It sounds like a pretty Java thing to do considering the prevalence of `null` and null-checks in the language. It's always interesting to see the habits that programmers bring from their main language(s) to ones they're picking up, especially when they're under pressure to deliver so they can't learn to program idiomatically.

[bigDinosaur]

Picked up by unit tests? How about some kind of system which can tell you if the method exists or not, and even possibly correct your typos, before you run the code!

[xdennis]

Completely fair, but that's often not built into dynamic languages. My main criticism is with their nonsensical approach to dealing with the limitations of JavaScript.

As far a I know, ESlint can't detect missing methods, and they weren't even using a linter. TypeScript can, but they weren't using that.

[userbinator]

they did indent by 3 spaces

Probably a compromise between 2 and 4?

[Izkata]

I suggested exactly that as a joke over a decade ago, then decided to try it out. Ended up I really liked it, and still use it for all my personal code.

I do stick to 4 spaces at work though.