“There’s got to be a better way”. I’m not sure how many times I’ve uttered that phrase, but it’s certainly more times than I’ve said “this is too easy to understand”. One thing is for sure; many of the solutions and explanations we encounter are more convoluted than they need to be. In a world where obfuscation often shrouds solutions in an apparently necessary cloud of cryptic ones and zeros, I’m constantly in search of what I consider to be true software design elegance - simple solutions for complex problems. Sadly, as I’ve said before, it seems much easier to stumble across software utilizing overly elaborate solutions for simple problems. While it may not be immediately obvious, most of the time when I find myself thinking there must be a better way, there is. I’m not saying that all problems can be resolved with equally simple solutions. Transaction control and remoting solutions are probably always going to be a little more difficult to understand than input validation; that’s just the way it is. However, I don’t think I’m the only one that found myself saying “there’s got to be a better way” when I was writing EJBs in 2001. Like most software professionals who’ve been at it for a while, I’ve got my fair share of rants. Overly complex solutions seem to be a recurring theme that is often at the crux of those rants. The evolving quest for simpler software design and development solutions has brought more principles, ideals and opinions to my attention than any other topic. Hence, this is Simple Minded Software, the place where I vent all the things those closest to me are tired of hearing about on a daily basis.
image source: The European Patent Office website
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment