Hi Erik,

I understand, and appreciate, the value of both look up tables and state machines. My only real point concerning them was that if someone held a really big gun to your head you could still get the tasks done (albeit much less efficiently). If memory were still priced at a premium, and a look up table was just prohibitive or downright not possible, you could still accomplish the task by doing the calculations each time. Can the same be said in the reverse case? This makes it at least somewhat a matter of conjecture or opinion (or at the very least circumstance) as to which is the more valuable.

All of that said, and although I know this is not the conversation you're looking to spur, I think I will stand by my previous vote for the most valuable programming tool (or technique) being the comment. Complete comments, in my opinion, are invaluable, not just to others who come behind you but to the original author too (six months later).

Joe