What are Table-Driven Methods

Question

What are Table-Driven methods as mentioned by Bill Gates on Vista commercial on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWPf1BWtkw

Answer 1

Table-driven methods are schemes that allow you to look up information in a table rather than using logic statements (i.e. case, if). In simple cases, it's quicker and easier to use logic statements, but as the logic chain becomes more complex, table-driven code is simpler than complicated logic, easier to modify and more efficient.

Answer 2

I am asking because I have done some work on my blog about decision tables and I was thinking it might be somewhat connected.

Answer 3

A table-driven method is quite simple. Use data structures instead of if-then statements to drive program logic. For example, if you are processing two types of records (tv versus cable) you might do this:

hash[tv] = process_tv_records hash[cable] = process_cable_records

In some languages, like Ruby or Perl, this technique is straightforward. In Java, you'd need to use Reflection to find method handles.

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