principles:keep_it_simple_stupid
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principles:keep_it_simple_stupid [2015-07-29 15:58] – typo 195.138.130.6 | principles:keep_it_simple_stupid [2016-09-04 01:00] – [Rationale] 5.12.30.152 | ||
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===== Principle Statement ===== | ===== Principle Statement ===== | ||
- | A simple solution is better than a complex one---even if the solution looks stupid. | + | A simple solution is better than a complex one, even if the solution looks stupid. |
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The advantage of simplicity is even bigger when the person who maintains the software is not the one who once wrote it. The maintainer might also be less familiar with sophisticated programming language features. So simple and stupid programs are easier to maintain because the maintainer needs less time to understand them and is less likely to introduce further defects. | The advantage of simplicity is even bigger when the person who maintains the software is not the one who once wrote it. The maintainer might also be less familiar with sophisticated programming language features. So simple and stupid programs are easier to maintain because the maintainer needs less time to understand them and is less likely to introduce further defects. | ||
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+ | One reason to create more complex code is to make it more flexible to accommodate further requirements. But one cannot know in what way to make it flexible or if that flexibility will be ever needed. | ||
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+ | "When you make your code more flexible or sophisticated than it needs to be, you over-engineer it. Some do this because they believe they know their system’s future requirements. They reason that it’s best to make a design more flexible or sophisticated today, so it can accommodate the needs of tomorrow. That sounds reasonable, if you happen to be a psychic." | ||
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+ | Another reason to create more complex code is to make optimizations. An optimized code is a more complex code. Pareto principle applies also in code: a program spend most of the time in a small portion of the code, so it will be wise to concentrate the effort to optimize only that part of the code. Another best practice is the to follow the | ||
+ | "Three rules of optimization": | ||
principles/keep_it_simple_stupid.txt · Last modified: 2021-10-20 21:09 by christian