Programming and Minimalism: Lessons from Orwell and the Clash

Programming and Minimalism Jon Dahl @jondahl jon@zencoder.comMonday, March 14, 2011

Monday, March 14, 2011

http://zencoder.com/jobsMonday, March 14, 2011

What is good programming?Monday, March 14, 2011

What is programming?Monday, March 14, 2011

ProcessMonday, March 14, 2011

Doing shitMonday, March 14, 2011

Deﬁning complex processesMonday, March 14, 2011

Programming is like...Monday, March 14, 2011

Engineering http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/4818952324/Monday, March 14, 2011

nouns verbsMonday, March 14, 2011

CraftMonday, March 14, 2011

ToolsMonday, March 14, 2011

SkillMonday, March 14, 2011

Small teamsMonday, March 14, 2011

Habits and practicesMonday, March 14, 2011

WritingMonday, March 14, 2011

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/4818952324/Monday, March 14, 2011

Fire!Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. Build on it.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. Build on it. Build on it.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it. Build on it. Enormous, stale, and boring.Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple and interesting. loop { Build on it. } Enormous, stale, and boring. Start over, but retain the best parts.Monday, March 14, 2011

BachMonday, March 14, 2011

HaydnMonday, March 14, 2011

MozartMonday, March 14, 2011

BeethovenMonday, March 14, 2011

MahlerMonday, March 14, 2011

simplicity and complexityMonday, March 14, 2011

test toneMonday, March 14, 2011

white noiseMonday, March 14, 2011

Steve ReichMonday, March 14, 2011

Arvo PärtMonday, March 14, 2011

Philip GlassMonday, March 14, 2011

minimalismMonday, March 14, 2011

simplicity and complexityMonday, March 14, 2011

USA Patriot ActMonday, March 14, 2011

Expanded Surveillance ActMonday, March 14, 2011

PropagandaMonday, March 14, 2011

While freely conceding that the Soviet regime exhibits certain features which the humanitarian may be inclined to deplore, we must, I think, agree that a certain curtailment of the right to political opposition is an unavoidable concomitant of transitional periods, and that the rigors which the Russian people have been called upon to undergo have been amply justiﬁed in the sphere of concrete achievement.Monday, March 14, 2011

I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that the Milton who once seemed not unlike a seventeenth-century Shelley had not become, out of an experience ever more bitter in each year, more alien to the founder of that Jesuit sect which nothing could induce him to tolerate. Harold Laski, Essay in Freedom of ExpressionMonday, March 14, 2011

I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that the Milton who once seemed not unlike a seventeenth-century Shelley had not become, out of an experience ever more bitter in each year, more alien to the founder of that Jesuit sect which nothing could induce him to tolerate.Monday, March 14, 2011

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other ﬁgure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.Monday, March 14, 2011

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.Monday, March 14, 2011

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.Monday, March 14, 2011

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.Monday, March 14, 2011

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientiﬁc word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.Monday, March 14, 2011

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.Monday, March 14, 2011

clear writing ➡ clear thinkingMonday, March 14, 2011

bad writing ➡ bad thinkingMonday, March 14, 2011

bad writing ➡ bad thinking ➡ totalitarianismMonday, March 14, 2011

clear, direct writingMonday, March 14, 2011

1. Always take the simplest approach to a problem.Monday, March 14, 2011

2. Clever code is bad code.Monday, March 14, 2011

module ApplicationHelper def me?(user=@user) returning(user == current_user) do |me| yield if me && block_given? end end endMonday, March 14, 2011

<% me?(@user) do %> <p><%= @user.private_info %></p> <% end %>Monday, March 14, 2011

module ApplicationHelper def me?(user=@user) returning(user == current_user) do |me| yield if me && block_given? end end endMonday, March 14, 2011

module ApplicationHelper def me?(user) yield if user == current_user end endMonday, March 14, 2011

3. Any code that isn’t doing something is harming your project.Monday, March 14, 2011

4. Accept constraints.Monday, March 14, 2011

5. If it isn’t local business logic, it should be a library.Monday, March 14, 2011

view -> controller -> modelMonday, March 14, 2011

model -> library -> open libraryMonday, March 14, 2011

6. Don’t over-abstract.Monday, March 14, 2011

@user.groups.map(&:name).to_sentenceMonday, March 14, 2011

class User def group_list group_names = groups.map do |group| group.name end group_names.to_sentence end endMonday, March 14, 2011

admin_roles.include?(@user.role) ? @user.groups.map {|g|g.name }.sort_by(&:name).to_sentence : @user.groups.select {|g|g.public? }.map {|g| g.name }.sort_by(&:name).to_sentenceMonday, March 14, 2011

7. Always actively clean up. Constantly.Monday, March 14, 2011

map.connect :controller/:action/:id.:format has_and_belongs_to_many :roles start_form_tag activate_users_urlMonday, March 14, 2011

8. Apply these rules wisely.Monday, March 14, 2011

9. Simple code is beautiful.Monday, March 14, 2011

10. Break hard problems down.Monday, March 14, 2011

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/4818952324/Monday, March 14, 2011

flight.book_flight_for(customer)Monday, March 14, 2011

def book_flight_for(customer) reserve_flight_for(customer) customer.charge(cost) customer.notify(details) endMonday, March 14, 2011

def reserve_flight_for(customer) if flight.available? mark_flight_reserved_for(customer) end endMonday, March 14, 2011

def charge(cost) ... endMonday, March 14, 2011

def notify(details) ... endMonday, March 14, 2011

10. Break hard problems down.Monday, March 14, 2011

ConsumeMonday, March 14, 2011

StudyMonday, March 14, 2011

ProduceMonday, March 14, 2011

you have a programming styleMonday, March 14, 2011

make it betterMonday, March 14, 2011

minimalMonday, March 14, 2011

clearMonday, March 14, 2011

directMonday, March 14, 2011

effectiveMonday, March 14, 2011

beautifulMonday, March 14, 2011

write beautiful codeMonday, March 14, 2011

Jon Dahl @jondahl jon@zencoder.comMonday, March 14, 2011

http://www.eamonn.org	263
http://jim.budet.net	144
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Programming and Minimalism: Lessons from Orwell and the Clash

by Jonathan Dahl on Mar 14, 2011

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