DocumentCode
962139
Title
Does Beautiful Code Imply Beautiful Design?
Author
Wirfs-Brock, Rebecca J.
Author_Institution
Wirfs-Brock Associates, Sherwood
Volume
24
Issue
6
fYear
2007
Firstpage
18
Lastpage
20
Abstract
This article claims brevity can contribute to code beauty-clarity of purpose, expressive use of the programming language, and design elegance also play a part. But is there more to good design than beautiful code? A good design is more than cleanly, clearly, and consistently expressed code. Beautiful code is beautiful only if it preserves and makes evident the designer´s intent. What was once a good design often degrades as new functionality is added. It would be great to throw code away and rebuild it anew every few years, but that´s not practical. Instead, the code should be made habitable.
Keywords
programming languages; software engineering; beautiful code; beautiful design; code clarity; consistently expressed code; habitable code; programming language; Computer hacking; Feathers; HTML; Helium; Java; Programming profession; Software design; Software performance; Testing; code; design; habitable code;
fLanguage
English
Journal_Title
Software, IEEE
Publisher
ieee
ISSN
0740-7459
Type
jour
DOI
10.1109/MS.2007.163
Filename
4375235
Link To Document