Re:Thank You, Guido
by pdonis on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:46AM
(#21398980)
> How come so many people try to use code to show how smart they are?
Writing clever code doesn't mean it's being done for that reason. As the article notes, Guido himself agreed that in the early stages of developing a piece of software, such as in an early stage startup, it probably makes sense to write clever code, because you can get it done faster and therefore iterate faster on improving the code to meet user needs. At this stage very few people are working on the code (often just one), so communicating with other developers is not a big issue.
The need for making it maintainable comes later, when the product is mature and many more people are working on the code, so the need for clear communication becomes much stronger.
Writing clever code doesn't mean it's being done for that reason. As the article notes, Guido himself agreed that in the early stages of developing a piece of software, such as in an early stage startup, it probably makes sense to write clever code, because you can get it done faster and therefore iterate faster on improving the code to meet user needs. At this stage very few people are working on the code (often just one), so communicating with other developers is not a big issue.
The need for making it maintainable comes later, when the product is mature and many more people are working on the code, so the need for clear communication becomes much stronger.