Beautiful Code: And the Answer Is....?

A couple of days ago, I launched my part of the SD West 2008 conference by moderating a panel on "Beautiful Code"--both the book and the concept. Joining me were six of the 33 contributors to the book, which was conceived and edited by Dr. Dobb's contributing editor Greg Wilson and O'Reilly editor Andy Orem.

The one thing the panel--Michael Feathers, Jim Kent, Christopher Seiwald, Elliotte Harold, Ron Mak, and Alberto Savoia--could agree on is that we all know what "ugly code" is: Code that someone else wrote. But "beautiful code"? I suppose the old saying "beauty is in the IDE of the beholder" is fitting, because the six panelists didn't necessarily agree. Nor, for that matter, would it have helped to have all 33 contributors on stage. That would have meant 33 different definitions for "beautiful code."

So I went to Greg Wilson for the answer. After all, the project was his idea. But he wasn't much help either, when I asked "so what's 'beautiful code'?" His response was "We don't know. Everyone had a different view on it, which was a more interesting result than anything definitive."

So what do you think? What is "beautiful code"? Send me your thoughts.

-- Jonathan Erickson
jerickson@ddj.com

Posted by Jon Erickson at 09:45 AM  Permalink