principles:rule_of_explicitness
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Table of Contents
Rule of Explicitness (RoE)
Variants and Alternative Names
- Explicit Is Better Than Implicit (EIBTI)1)
Context
Principle Statement
Explicit is better than implicit.
Description
Rationale
Strategies
Caveats
See section contrary principles.
Origin
- First without being explicitly stated RoE has been a central design principle of the programming language Python2). Python dates back to 1991.
- Later this philosophy was stated as part of the “Zen of Python”3)
- The rule—although often not stated as such—is also known outside the python community4).
- Extend and origin beyond that remains unclear.
- The name “rule of explicitness” is newly introduced here.
Evidence
Relations to Other Principles
Generalizations
Specializations
Contrary Principles
- More Is More Complex (MIMC): Stating something explicitly requires more code.
- Generalization Principle (GP): RoE often results in specific solutions. Generality often requires stating something implicitly.
Complementary Principles
- Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS): Explicit solutions are often also simpler.
Principle Collections
Example
Description Status
Further Reading
- Martin Fowler: To Be Explicit
- Tim Peters: The Zen of Python
2)
Guido van Rossum: Python's Design Philosophy
principles/rule_of_explicitness.1362087785.txt.gz · Last modified: 2013-05-20 12:46 (external edit)