simplicity

Chapter 7Data Driven

I used to think my job as a programmer was to write code that manipulated data—inputs became outputs, data became information. My programs were structured fairly imperatively, even when writing in OO or functional languages, because my implicit assumption was that the code was in charge.

I was wrong, of course. The code is not in charge—it’s simply one tool we use to deliver value.

I now have a different view of development, and one that makes my code simpler. The effective approach to programming is to have data and code hand control back and forth. Sometimes code generates data; sometimes data drives the code.

The benefit of this is clear: data is easier to work with than code. It’s easier to reason about, easier to manipulate, ...