I was just exploring different ways of coding

well in that case let me tell you how I feel about "different ways of coding"
1) I do not give a hoot if it is pretty
2) I do not give a hoot if it elegant
3) I do not give a hoot if it is smart
4) I do not give a hoot if it works

but I do give a hoot if it is mainatainable

re 1) oddly enough maintainable code tend to be pretty.
re 2) 'elegant' code usually is very convoluted and thus not maintainable.
re 3) more bad code has been generated in an effort to be 'smart' than for any other reason.
re 4) if it is maintainable, it is easy to make it work.

Erik