Dru's Notes

Simple code is easier to fix, easier to read, easier to maintain. Getting to simple is the hard part.

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Simple code is easier to fix, easier to read, easier to maintain. Getting to simple is the hard part.

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Dru Riley
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I went back through a draft and caught one line. "Simple code is easier to build."

It's wrong.

Simple code is easier to fix. Easier to read. Easier to maintain. Getting to simple is the hard part.

My first draft of this post had six stories. I kept one.

You add things, then you cut. You rewrite. You ask "is this necessary?" enough times to strip it down.

That takes iterations.

People think simple is easy because the result is easy to understand. Behind it are dozens of drafts and hundreds of cuts.

The simpler it looks, the more work it took.

Where are you adding when you could be cutting?

- Simple is harder to build than complex. People think it's easy because it looks easy.
- The output looks effortless. The process is anything but.
- Simplicity requires more thought, more editing, more restraint. The complex version is often what you arrive at first. The simple version is what you arrive at after cutting.
- Sparked by editing "Justified Complexity." The original draft said "simple code is faster to build." Wrong. Simple code is easier to fix and maintain. Building the simple version takes more work upfront.
- Sister post to "Justified Complexity." They share the same moment but explore different tensions.