Sticky Wicket: Looping by Month
Some programming problems are difficult to solve. Others are difficult to solve clearly.
"Sticky wicket." That's a fun phrase to say, isn't it?
A sticky wicket is a metaphor used to describe a difficult circumstance. It originated as a term for difficult circumstances in the sport of cricket, caused by a damp and soft pitch. Wikipedia
Writing a loop that iterates one month at a time is a subtly tricky problem. The difficulty isn't so much in writing the code itself. The challenge is to write the code in such a way that your intent is clear to the reader.
One of my favorite programming quotes is this gem from Martin Fowler:
"Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand."
With this in mind, I'll be writing a series of short articles over the next several days exploring several different approaches to looping by month.
If you have a preferred method for solving this sticky wicket, I'd love to hear it. Let me know @NoLongerSet on Twitter or via email (mike at nolongerset dot com).
UPDATE: Reader submissions (shared with permission):
- Loop Until using DateAdd
