Explicit input
An explicit input is a value supplied directly by a caller through an argument at a function's invocation site.
Grokking Simplicity
An input to a function that is supplied directly at the call site through an argument or parameter.
- How it is used
- Makes a function's dependencies visible while supporting extraction, reuse, testing, and generalization.
- How deep it goes
- Defines explicit inputs, demonstrates dependency conversion, and gives a four-step refactoring procedure; it stops short of language internals.
- Examples
- Uses shopping-cart functions, field-update functions, nested options, and JavaScript array copying to expose hidden inputs.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via JavaScript refactoring by identifying hidden dependencies, adding arguments, changing function bodies, and updating callers.
Data-Oriented Programming: Reduce software complexity
An explicit argument is a value directly supplied by the caller in a function invocation.
- How it is used
- Uses explicit arguments to keep data-oriented module functions stateless and make their manipulated data visible.
- How deep it goes
- Explains the contrast with implicit object state, demonstrates a method signature, and stops short of execution internals.
- Examples
- Uses a Library getBookLendings signature and contrasts JavaScript-style this access with Python’s self parameter.
- What you can do after
- Apply data-oriented programming by redesigning module functions to accept their manipulated data explicitly.
Read how Data-Oriented Programming: Reduce software complexity explains explicit input →
Related concepts
- command-line argumentincludes · A command-line argument is a value supplied to a program when it is invoked, either as positional input or as an option that configures its behavior.
- implicit inputalternative to · An implicit input is a dependency on surrounding state or context that affects a computation without appearing as an explicit function argument.
- implicit argumentcontrasts with · An implicit argument is a function input supplied through invocation context, naming convention, or language mechanisms rather than explicitly at the call site.
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