Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, 2nd Edition

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No Defect in Behavior or Structure

2. The code that I produce will always be my best work. I will not knowingly allow code that is defective either in behavior or in structure to accumulate.

Remember, Kent Beck once said: “First, make it work. Then, make it right.” Getting the program to work is just the first and easiest step. The second and harder step is to clean the code.

Unfortunately, too many programmers think they are done once they get a program to work. Once it works, they move on to the next program, and then the next, and the next.

In their wake, they leave behind a history of tangled, unreadable code that slows down the whole development team.

They do this because they think their value is in speed. They know they are paid a ...