Good code is its own best documentation. As you’re about to add a comment, ask yourself, “How can I improve the code so that this comment isn’t needed?” Improve the code and then document it to make it even clearer.
Good code is its own best documentation.
The trouble with quick and dirty is that dirty remains long after quick has been forgotten.
It’s better to wait for a productive programmer to become available than it is to wait for the first available programmer to become productive.
Good visual layout shows the logical structure of a program.
Engineering is the application of scientific principles toward practical ends. If the engineering isn’t practical, it’s bad engineering.
The job of the average manager requires a shift in focus every few minutes. The job of the average software developer requires that the developer not shift focus more often than every few hours.
It’s hard enough to find an error in your code when you’re looking for it; it’s even harder when you’ve assumed your code is error-free.
In software, the chain isn’t as strong as its weakest link; it’s as weak as all the weak links multiplied together.
Software projects fail for one of two general reasons: the project team lacks the knowledge to conduct a software project successfully, or the project team lacks the resolve to conduct a project effectively.
The default movement on a software project should be in the direction of taking elements of the software away to make it simpler rather than adding elements to make it more complex.
There are no secrets on an successful software project. Both good and bad news must be able to move up and down the ptoject hierarchy without restriction.
A brute force solution that works is better than an elegant solution that doesn’t work.
Even when you have skilled, motivated, hard-working people, the wrong team structure can undercut their efforts instead of catapulting them to success. A poor team structure can increase development time, reduce quality, damage morale, increase turnover, and ultimately lead to project cancellation.