If Your Code Looks Like This... You're A GOOD Programmer

Summary

In this video, Dave Farley of Continuous Delivery discusses the concept of 'bad code' and its impact on productivity and system quality. He argues that good code should be functional and easy to modify. Farley emphasizes the importance of quality over quick, substandard solutions, citing data showing that higher quality code leads to more efficient feature development. He also touches on readability, complexity, and testability as key factors in code quality, using a real-world example to illustrate his points and advocating for modern software engineering practices.

Takeaways

• 😀 Bad code is generally defined by its inability to perform its intended function or its difficulty to change when necessary.
• 🔍 The speaker argues that good code should be easy to change and maintain, which is more important than aesthetic appeal or over-engineering.
• 📈 High-quality code is linked to higher efficiency and productivity, with teams producing better quality code spending more time on new features.
• 🛠️ The professional duty of software developers includes building high-quality software efficiently, which is essential for long-term success.
• 💡 The script suggests that good code is not just about fulfilling its purpose but also about being easy to change, which is a foundational principle.
• 📚 The importance of readability is discussed, emphasizing that the best code should be understandable by anyone familiar with the problem, not just the original author.
• 🧩 Complexity in code is managed by striving for readability and testability, which helps in maintaining modularity and separation of concerns.
• 🔄 Test-driven development (TDD) promotes code that is easier to change and maintain due to its focus on modularity and cohesion.
• 🔑 The script uses an example of real-world code to illustrate principles of readability, simplicity, and the use of TDD for creating maintainable code.
• 🔍 The concept of 'side effects' in code is touched upon, suggesting that minimizing them leads to more deterministic and simpler code behavior.
• 🌟 The speaker emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and improvement in software development, acknowledging that there's always room for betterment in one's code.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is defining bad code, understanding what it means, and exploring how to avoid it.

How does the speaker define 'bad code'?

The speaker defines bad code as code that either doesn't do what it should or is too hard to change when necessary.

What are the two primary characteristics of good code according to the speaker?

Good code is defined by two primary characteristics: it fulfills its purpose and is easy to change.

Why does the speaker believe that cutting corners to write code quickly is counterproductive?

The speaker believes that cutting corners to write code quickly is counterproductive because it leads to lower quality code, which ultimately slows down development due to the time required to fix issues later.

What does the Dora data say about teams that produce higher quality code?

The Dora data indicates that teams that produce higher quality code are significantly more efficient, spending 44% more of their time on producing new features than teams that do not produce high-quality code.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of readability in code?

The speaker believes that readability is crucial and that good code should be understandable by almost anyone who understands the problem being solved, whether they are technical or not.

How does the speaker suggest achieving readable code?

The speaker suggests achieving readable code by making each part of the code small and focused on a single part of the task, using descriptive names, and ensuring the intent of the code is clear to most people, including oneself in the future.

What role does test-driven development (TDD) play in writing good code according to the speaker?

According to the speaker, test-driven development (TDD) plays a significant role in writing good code by promoting modularity, cohesion, separation of concerns, abstraction, and sensibly managed coupling.

What example does the speaker provide to demonstrate readable and well-structured code?

The speaker provides an example from one of their pet projects, showing a small part of code that handles remote method calls. This example demonstrates small, focused pieces of code with descriptive names and clear separation of concerns.

What are some benefits of using modern software engineering tools and practices mentioned by the speaker?

The speaker mentions that using modern software engineering tools and practices, such as working iteratively in small steps and using TDD, helps in achieving readable, modular, and easy-to-change code.