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Discussion on: The art and difficulty of naming in programming

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fayomihorace profile image
Horace FAYOMI •

I drop the solution here anyways.

def print_items_counts(array):
    item_map_count = {}
    for item in array:
        if item_map_count.get(item):
            item_map_count[item] += 1
        else:
            item_map_count[item] = 1

    for item, count in item_map_count.items():
        print(f"{item}: {count}")
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geraldew profile image
geraldew •

If we're talking about clarity then it is misleading to use

 if item_map_count.get(item):
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when there is no apparent use for that value. Instead it is clearer to use

 if item in item_map_count :
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So it's not just choice of variable names that affect clarity.

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fayomihorace profile image
Horace FAYOMI •

You're right geraldew, thanks.

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yannickkiki profile image
yannickkiki • • Edited

Nice article, waiting for the part 2!

Just for the record, we could also write this part

if item_map_count.get(item):
    item_map_count[item] += 1
else:
    item_map_count[item] = 1
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as this

item_map_count[item] = 1 + item_map_count.get(item, 0)
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fayomihorace profile image
Horace FAYOMI •

Beautiful indeed, I like shorthands. Thanks.