Friday, May 16, 2014

Agile in a Flash 42

The Seven Code Virtues The Code
Agile in a Flash by Jeff Langr and Tim Ottinger (card #42)

> Working, as opposed to incomplete
> Unique, as opposed to duplicated
> Simple, as opposed to complicated
> Clear, as opposed to puzzling
> Easy, as opposed to difficult
> Developed, as opposed to primitive
> Brief, as opposed to chatty
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Working, as opposed to incomplete. A program that works is superior to one that might work later. TDD requires code to work early and often.
Unique, as opposed to duplicated. Many regression errors are the result of improvements to only one version of copied code. Eliminate duplication in TDD’s refactoring step.
Simple, as opposed to complicated. Simple code hides fewer bugs and tends to optimize well.
Clear, as opposed to puzzling. Code misunderstandings generate errors. Use Card 43, Really Meaningful Names, and simple structures to make such errors unlikely.
Easy, as opposed to difficult. Structure and organize code so that it is easy to use. Don’t hesitate to add convenience methods and classes.
Developed, as opposed to primitive. Prefer the clarification and encapsulation of abstract data types to built-in variable types. Primitive obsession muddles the code and can create maintenance nightmares.
Brief, as opposed to chatty. Code should be brief but never cryptic. All other virtues still observed, less code is always better than more.


"Complicated code is infinitely more difficult to maintain and debug than simple code.” 

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