

The Principles of Good Programming - andywood
http://area.autodesk.com/blogs/chris/the_principle_of_good_programming

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peregrine
An expanded and slightly edited list from the same author.
<http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=331531>

The key with all of these principles is to remember everything in moderation.
Otherwise you abstract things so much that to go from webpage to sql database
you need to create 5 files and 1 stored proc, this is an extreme example of
course.

~~~
jared314
5 files and a stored proc is, sadly, normal. Most applications grow just large
enough to require the layers (for organization), while never gaining much from
them (like reuse).

~~~
wisty
There's a quote, that goes something like: "For each rule of thumb, there is
an equal and opposite rule of thumb. Both are wrong".

I'd like to see a lot more context with those principles. I'd like two
examples - one which demonstrates why the principle is useful, and one that
shows it going just a little too far.

Otherwise, these principles just create what artsy types call a "lens". It
might help you reach an epiphany ("doh, I should have abstracted that bit -
that's the word, abstraction, where did I hear that?"), but it also leads to
the "Journeyman Programmer who just read Design Patterns and wants to make
everything a Stratergy" phenomena (is that a Joel misquote?).

