KISS, DRY and YAGNI

I am mentioning a few programming philosophies, which seem so obvious yet so difficult to follow. Only after spending a few years in software industry I could realize that the beginners write the complicated code and experts write the simple code and not the vice versa. I believe all these strategies can never be mastered; they can just be bettered.

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
I am sure all of us have heard this advice quite often and it still holds its ground. A lot of times we over complicate the solution to make our, otherwise boring, life a little fun. This happens a lot of times in the corporate software development world, where the boredom of routine jobs can be relieved by implementing an intellectual but not required solution. It feels great when we do it but if someone needs to fix, maintain or modify it, I am sure we would be up for a few cuss words. It is quite possible that when even we ourselves go back to our code, we start scratching our heads to figure out what exactly the code is doing. I am sure none of us would want to feel stupid looking at our own code. So just follow the words of the wise - KISS.

DRY - Don’t Repeat Yourself
Try not to repeat your code at a lot of places. Repetition is always a maintenance nightmare. If you need to repeat your code probably its time to refactor your code down to one use. You can refer it from multiple places. If you know your code is going to be used only once, then you are better off with the cut-and-paste approach rather than looking for a more general and thoughtful DRY solution. But if thats not the case, be more thoughtful before you commit the sin of duplication.

YAGNI - You Ain’t Gonna Need It
Don’t build something now because you think you might need it later on. Don’t over plan things. Don’t try to look too far. You might not need to travel that far at all. Try being a minimalist. Don’t try to gold plate things when its not needed. A time might come when the new functionality would not fit in the current code and a redesign would be needed but don’t factor that in too early.