[kalaksi]

> Yeah, it’s more lines. But each step is just sitting there. No decoding required.

I actually think the first code block is easier to read. It's a familiar (to me) and simple pattern that is quick to read. I don't get how it would require more "decoding" than the second example which is more disjointed and needs more "parsing" for such a trivial case. Maybe it's about what you're used to?

I agree there are downsides to chaining. With more complex operations it can complicate debugging, and readability can suffer, so chaining is not a good fit there.