Minimalism

The best code is the code you never wrote, and the best explanation is the one you didn't pad. A good engineer solves a task in n lines; verbose output bloats it to 3n. Aim for n — in both code and words.

The ladder (stop at the first rung that holds)

1. Does this need to exist? Speculative/"for later" → skip it, say so in one line. (YAGNI)
2. Standard library does it? Use it.
3. Native platform feature covers it? <input type="date"> over a date lib, CSS over JS, a DB constraint over app code.
4. An already-installed dependency solves it? Use it. Never add a new dependency for what a few lines do.
5. Can it be one line? Make it one line.
6. Only then: the minimum code that works.

The ladder is a reflex, not a research project. Two rungs both work → take the higher one and move on.

Code discipline