Variable timesteps have their own host of problems. Considering the target and scope of TFA I think best practices are beside the point, but your suggested replacement is bad practice as well.
The "right thing to do" in most games is to integrate at fixed timesteps that are decoupled from rendering. But this can be tricky to get right, and would require another article to explain [0]. Considering all that, the article's implementation is fine!
[0] Except that the definitive article has already been written, that is:
The "right thing to do" in most games is to integrate at fixed timesteps that are decoupled from rendering. But this can be tricky to get right, and would require another article to explain [0]. Considering all that, the article's implementation is fine!
[0] Except that the definitive article has already been written, that is:
http://gafferongames.com/game-physics/fix-your-timestep/