Good taste cannot be reduced to simple rules. Hence, some authors who make a virtue of avoiding adjectives produce great works. Others who make a virtue of using copious adjectives also produce great work. The point is that whatever their style they have something other than a rule. They have great taste...
So it is with programming. There are all manner of prophets who preach OO programming, functional programming, TDD, Agile, Design Patterns, type-safety, pair programming, kanban, etc, ad nauseum.
The truth is that great programming, like great literature, depends on developing great taste. Only then will you deploy whatever tools you choose like a master.
To respond in relevance to HN: if you’re designing a website please don’t style your scroll bar so it matches color with the background. I can’t tell how long the article is and as a result opted not to commit to reading it beyond a few paragraphs.
So it is with programming. There are all manner of prophets who preach OO programming, functional programming, TDD, Agile, Design Patterns, type-safety, pair programming, kanban, etc, ad nauseum.
The truth is that great programming, like great literature, depends on developing great taste. Only then will you deploy whatever tools you choose like a master.