The Programmer's Code
27 Rules to Code By
By
Steve on
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Updated
Wednesday, October 09, 2019
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3 times today.)
Following is my list of the single most important lessons for the software programmer to know and understand at a deep level.
In the next few weeks I'll be writing an in depth article on each item in the list.
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The Programmer's Code - 27 Rules to Code By
Daily Disciplines
- Be consistent.
- Fail fast and hard.
- Never write the same code twice.
- Be explicit.
- Code for the maintainer.
- Adapt and adopt.
- Simplify, simplify, simplify. Or I just say, simplify.
- Minimize scope.
Design Disciplines
- Beware the BSOD (Bright Shiny Object of the Day).
- Layers, levels, loops and bubbles.
- Make decisions at the lowest level possible.
- Favor composition over inheritance.
- Minimize dependencies.
- Names matter.
- Don't design the future.
- Functional first.
- Everything is an API.
- Minimize UI code.
Attitudes
- Humility happens.
- Never say *should*, *impossible* or *it works for me*.
- Everything is possible with enough time and money.
- Think like a user.
- The Missouri Mind (Show Me)
Precepts
- Assess often.
- If it's not demoed, it's not done.
- If it can be forgotten, it will be.
- Rules are best broken by those who have mastered them.