The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source Laws for hackers to live by (Interview)
Jul 16, 2020
Dave Kerr, an IT consultant and creator of the Hacker Laws repository on GitHub, shares valuable insights on essential principles for developers. He discusses laws like YAGNI and DRY, emphasizing their importance in software design and life. The conversation explores the complexities of estimating project timelines, advocating for adaptability amid unpredictability. Dave highlights the significance of empathy in teamwork and warns against over-engineering, offering wisdom on prioritizing simplicity and practical decision-making in coding.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Kernighan's Law: Write Code You Can Debug
- Create a sensible abstraction of the system you're working with.
- Avoid clever or tricky code for easier debugging and maintenance.
Goodhart's Law: Metrics as Targets
- When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.
- Be careful with KPIs, as they can incentivize gaming the system rather than actual improvement.
DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) Principle
- Every piece of knowledge must have a single, unambiguous representation within a system.
- Avoid premature DRY-ing; focus on knowledge repetition, not procedural repetition.