ITT 2016 – Kevlin Henney – Seven Ineffective Coding Habits of Many Programmers

Coding By Builder

Habits help you manage the complexity of code. You apply existing skill and knowledge automatically to the detail while focusing on the bigger picture. But because you acquire habits largely by imitation, and rarely question them, how do you know your habits are effective? Many of the habits that programmers have for naming, formatting, commenting and unit testing do not stand up as rational and practical on closer inspection. Kevlin Henney examines seven coding habits that are not as effective as programmers believe, and to suggest alternatives.