7 May
2017
7 May
'17
12:43 a.m.
On Sat, 6 May 2017, Larry McVoy wrote:
When I run engineering teams the point I make is if
you wrote the code
more than 6 months ago it might as well be someone else's code. So
write it in a way that someone else can debug / extend it.
A principle I've tried to follow over the years is "write code as though
the next person to maintain it is an axe-wielding murderer who knows where
you live".
I also made the point that "clever" sucks.
At least most of the time.
All "clever" means is "hard to understand". The brief joy one gets
from
clever code is stomped on by the frustration one gets from having to fix
it.
Apropos the above, I do confess to writing "clever code" from time to time
(PERL is a beautiful language for such sins)...
Of course, in the olden days it was the APL "one-liners" :-)
--
Dave Horsfall DTM (VK2KFU) "Those who don't understand security will
suffer."