Yea, personally I think it's simply a question of experience. For example lispers prefer the cons+nreverse solution to anything else because it tends to be the fastest way (yes, I've tried to beat it with a "smarter" algo and failed too) while still being clear.
I think the idea of not optimizing for efficiency is a good one, but (like all things) can be taken to extremes. If you consistently choose the slowest way to do something then when you are ready to optimize for performance you'll probably have problems. What do you do if after the bottle necks have been removed, the system is still too slow?
I think the idea of not optimizing for efficiency is a good one, but (like all things) can be taken to extremes. If you consistently choose the slowest way to do something then when you are ready to optimize for performance you'll probably have problems. What do you do if after the bottle necks have been removed, the system is still too slow?