
2.4 Tenet 2: Make each program do one thing well
The best program, like Cousteau’s lake fly, performs but one task in its life and
does it well. The program is loaded into memory, accomplishes its function,
and then gets out of the way to allow the next single-minded program to
begin. This sounds simple, yet it may surprise you how many software devel
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opers have difficulty sticking to this singular goal.
Software engineers often fall prey to “creeping featurism,” as it’s called in
the industry. A programmer may write a simple application, only to find his
creative urges taking over, causing him to add a feature here or an option
there. Soon he has a ...