The Programmer's Paradox

“Premature optimization is the root of all evil” -- Donald KnuthCode generally implements a series of steps for the computer to follow. I am using a slightly broader definition than just an ‘algorithm’ or ‘heuristic’, which are usually de...

One of the keys to getting good quality out of software development is to control the scope of each line of code carefully.This connection isn’t particularly intuitive, but it is strong and useful.We can loosely define the scope of any piece of cod...

The idea is to express the instructions to the computer that you’ve crafted in a succinct but entirely verifiable way.If the expression is huge, the size itself will cripple your ability to verify that the instructions are correct.If the expression...

I’ve seen many, many variations of programmers reacting to what they believe is over-complexity.A common one is if they are working on a massive system, with a tonne of rules and administration. They feel like a little cog. They can’t do what the...

There is something hard to do. Some of the people involved are having trouble wrapping their heads around the problem.They get some parts of their understanding wrong. In small, subtle ways, but still wrong.Then they base the solution on their unders...

A good decision in a software development project is one that moves you at least one step closer to getting the work completed with the necessary quality.A bad decision is one where you don’t get a step forward or you trade off a half step forward...

You know the final version will be very complicated. But you need to get going. It is way too long to lay out a full and complete low or medium level design. You’ll just have to wing it.The best idea is to rough-in the structure and layers first. T...