What is good code?

The Pragmatic Craftsman :: Simplicity from complexity : by Stanley Kubasek ::

February 26th, 2005 | In Better Coder | Comments Off

I’ve heard many definitions, but the one below, by Kirk Knoernschild, seems closest to my heart.

Quality code is code that:

can adapt to change
performs well
is error free
is as simple as possible
does what my customer needs

On a related not, here’s what Robert Martin, a software craftsman, has to say how to write quality code:

The only way to go really fast is to write the best code you can possibly write, with the best design you can possibly give it. Any other technique will slow you down. … In my estimation the belief that quality is an expediter rather than an impediment is what separates professionals from amateurs.

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The key to performance is elegance, not battalions of special cases. — Jon Bentley and Doug McIlroy - 4 days agoThe ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. — Hans Hoffmann - 9 days agoSo much complexity in software comes from trying to make one thing do two things. — Ryan Singer - 15 days agoGood code is short, simple, and symmetrical - the challenge is figuring out how to get there. — Sean Parent - 17 days agoSimplicity carried to the extreme becomes elegance. — Jon Frankli - 21 days ago

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The Pragmatic Craftsman :: Simplicity from complexity : by Stanley Kubasek ::

What is good code?

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