Is it better to use class variables or pass parameters?

[Dave Benjamin]

On Wed, 1 Mar 2006, Derek Basch wrote:

> This one has always bugged me. Is it better to just slap a "self" in
> front of any variable that will be used by more than one class method
> or should I pass around variable between the methods?

As a general rule, I only turn a parameter into an instance variable when 
it would otherwise be a parameter of all (or nearly all) methods. Though 
this is perhaps an overly mechanical perspective, I like to think of 
instance variables as implicit parameters to every method. It helps me 
keep scope under control and encourages better cohesion.

-- 
    .:[ dave benjamin -( ramen/sp00 )- http://spoomusic.com/ ]:.
    "one man's constant is another man's variable" - alan perlis