I began this series on Least Common Denominator Code (LCDC) with The Myth of Code Anyone Can Read. In the posts that followed I attempted to show how this kind of code is not actually possible in a real development shop. I’ve shown how different code should be written for different audiences, and how real… Read More »
In the last few posts, beginning with The Myth of Code Anyone Can Read, I’ve focused on what you can expect from your programmers in general. Of course, generalizing is what got us into this discussion in the first place, so let’s spend a little time not generalizing. When teaching new programmers, I always tell… Read More »
In The Myth of Code Anyone Can Read, I introduced the idea that least common denominator code (LCDC) is not a goal anyone should aim for. Despite my assertion, I’ve seen a number of places where this is a requirement. Even if you don’t believe any of the other reasons for code to not cater… Read More »
In The Myth of Code Anyone Can Read, I introduced the idea that least common denominator code (LCDC) is not a good approach to writing software. Among other things, this approach ignores programmer specialization that happens in any team of more than two developers. Mental Caching As a project becomes larger than one person can… Read More »
In LCDC: Fundamental Knowledge, I explained how hard it is to specify a minimum level of knowledge or experience for all programmers. This minimum level would be needed to determine what is allowable for Lowest Common Denominator Code (LCDC). Anyone who has been programming for any time is probably shouting at the screen, calling me… Read More »
In The Myth of Code Anyone Can Read, I introduced the idea that least common denominator code (LCDC) is not a good approach to writing software. One reason for this problem is caused by the knowledge base of your average programmer. Different Programmers Have Different Backgrounds Programming is still a relatively new field. It’s also… Read More »
I got into a conversation recently coming out of the Houston.pm user group meeting. As usual, we wandered over numerous technical topics, but one stuck out in my mind: whether or not to use more advanced or more complicated language idioms. I’ve written about programming idioms and advanced code many times in the past (see… Read More »
As you probably know, code is read more often than it is written. Anybody who has worked on code written by anyone else has probably wished that the code were more readable at some point. Writing readable code should definitely be considered a best practice. The problem comes when defining what you mean by readable.… Read More »
For the next entry in the Best Practices Gone Bad series of posts, I have a topic I wish I had thought of. In issue 125 of Overload magazine (Feb 2015), Sergey Ignatchenko wrote an article entitled Best Practices vs Witch Hunts. Sergey covers a somewhat different approach to how best practices go bad. He… Read More »
The past few generations of version control systems have really good support for branching. This feature allows someone to create a new line of development that is separate from the official main/master/trunk line of development. Changes made on a branch do not affect the main development until they are merged to the main branch. Shortly… Read More »