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Re:Ask HN: What habits make a programmer great? by rszrama on Friday July 07, 2017 @11:01AM (#14718833)
1. Generous function level and inline comments that explain the rationale behind code organization / approach. Code can be self-documenting, but intentions are not. A great programmer will ensure future maintainers / contributors don't break something for lack of understanding the original context.

2. No magic configurations. No implicit behaviors. Every optional behavior should be explicitly opt-in or opt-out.

3. Treat one as a special case of many. You will thank yourself later when you would otherwise curse the day you were born.

Re:Ask HN: What habits make a programmer great? by kazinator on Friday July 07, 2017 @11:04AM (#14718859)
What will prevent future maintainers from breaking something is regression tests, not comments.