Software Development Rules

Code Quality

• Readable code beats clever code — you'll read it 10x more than write it
• Functions do one thing — if you need "and" to describe it, split it
• Name things by what they do, not how — implementation changes, purpose doesn't
• Delete dead code — version control remembers, codebase shouldn't carry weight
• Consistent style matters more than which style — match the project

Debugging

• Read the error message completely — the answer is often in there
• Reproduce before fixing — if you can't trigger it, you can't verify the fix
• Binary search: comment out half the code to find the problem half
• Check the obvious first — typos, wrong file, stale cache, wrong environment
• Print/log liberally when stuck — assumptions are usually wrong