This is perfectly fine C# code and works fine provided correct URL. But the everything is just done at one line by reducing the readability of the code.
Here is the code :
return new StreamReader(WebRequest.Create(urlName).GetResponse().GetResponseStream()).ReadToEnd();
I am just wondering what are the opinions of fellow developers on this kind of short cut way of writing code
Push it into a well-named method, and perhaps break it up so that single statment stretches over a couple lines. I'd also probably use WebClient:
return new WebClient().DownloadString(urlName);
No, it's not really perfectly fine C# code. You should dispose the StreamReader, so at least have a using statement:
using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(WebRequest.Create(urlName).GetResponse().GetResponseStream()) {
return reader.ReadToEnd();
}
That code may gain a bit readability by dividing it into more lines, but not very much.
Generally I prefer readable code before compact code. Having one statement on each line makes the code easier to read and understand. For example:
if (i <= 4) i = 4 - i;
This becomes more readable with the if statement on one line and the code inside it on a separate line, with the if statement always having brackets:
if (i <= 4) {
i = 4 - i;
}
This code is of course rather readable even in the compact form, but the more complex the code is, the more it gains from putting each statement on a separate line.
...YUCK.
I will sometimes combine a few things into one line, usually when I am dumping stuff to a stream, but never this much.
Most compilers (c++ compilers at least) will often inline variable definitions if the definition is used only once, so if you make a one time use, throw away variable. Your C# compiler will probably just replace its name with its definition.
In addition to the readability problem, you should dispose any IDisposble object you are using.
One statement != one line , you can improve readability by improving formatting of your code. Of course you should not assume other people use high resolution monitors.
