Programming as Design
It’s a popular belief that “design” is a stage you complete before moving on to writing code. Its product is some form of design specification, which is sufficient for a generic code monkey to implement.
The truth is very different. Programming—the act of writing code—is a design activity.
Even the most detailed specification has holes, or else it would be the code—you can’t describe every minuscule detail in a design document. The act of programming verifies the initial design decisions and performs the remaining design work. It exposes holes, inconsistencies, and errors and allows you to find a route around them. “Some programmers don’t think they’re doing design when they program, but whenever you write code, you’re always ...
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