##Programmer's Proverbs
Programming and development often teaches one wisdom that cannot be attained elsewhere. Coding and programming, as some have said, is a way of life, not just job. When you are a coder, that is a big part of who you are at work and outside of work. So, let's come together, and put down our wisdom for future generations to see and learn from.
##The Rules Given that I've been getting a great number of pull requests and submissions, I wanted to write down a quick FAQ and rulebook.
- Are programming wisdoms allowed? No, not really. These are supposed to be wisdoms and proverbs about life taken from programming. While a "proverb" like
Use semantic class names that are easy to read and understandsounds great for a programmer, it misses the point of the repo. It can be rewritten as suchWrite classnames so others can understand the wisdom of your codewhich makes sense outside of coding as well: work and communicate in such a way so that others can understand what you mean and the wisdom behind your work. - Can I submit someone else's quotes? No. Please submit your own ideas. You're welcome to look up regular (non-programming) proverbs and translate them as I did with
A deployed MVP is worth two prototyped. Use your own ideas please! - Should I include my name in the quote? You're welcome to do a
- by Metag after the quote. That will ensure that even after I restructure the readme file, you'll still get credit! - Is my quote always going to be here? Probably not but I will build out a
legacy.README.mdwhere I will store any discarded quotes.
##API For those that feel like they want to hit up an API and get a list of proverbs (or a single proverb), I crafted this neat little API. Here's how it works:
All proverbs: http://proverbs-app.antjan.us
Random proverb: http://proverbs-app.antjan.us/random
Please tweet <@antjanus> if you do use it so I can see it in action!
##Proverbs
####A deployed MVP is worth two prototyped.
####When you reach bearded-level, there are at least a hundred grey-beards above you.
####A/B Test twice, deploy changes once.
####Don't commit on master when drunk.
####Sleep on a force push.
####A git pull a day, keeps the doctor away.
####Sometimes you have to cut legacy support to allow the new product to bloom.
####More hours worked, more commits made. Mostly reverts and bug-causing features.
####Even a greybeard will drop production DB.
####Scope creep makes a mountain.
####A hundred programmers won't make a two-year project in a week.
####Facebook wasn't built in a day.
####"Just ship" is no substitute for design.
####Today's fashion is tomorrow's legacy.
####Learning obscure and strange languages, yields better understanding and broader horizons.
####The better job you do, the easier others discount the level of difficulty.
####Testing is easier than debugging.
####Finish a product in a day, and people will expect a new product every day. Teach people about proper development cycles, and your company will flourish.
####Customers are the best testers.
####"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it." --Brian Kernighan
####Absence is beauty, in error logs.
####Eternal sunshine of the stateless mind.
####Laziness is your best friend. Never do twice what you can automate once.
####Good test coverage + automated workflows = quiet cell phones and better sleep.
####The best code is no code at all.
####The best request is the one you don't make.
####If a system works perfectly, no one will care what is inside it. Once it breaks, systems design and architecture decides your fate.
####Leave architecture for applications that require long-term support.
####Architecture and design are preparations for problems and changes, not a key to runtime.
####Without a prototype, don't build a final product.
####Without boilerplate, there's no speedy development.
####Code frustration is a bad advisor for a refactor.
####The more technology you learn, the more you realize how little you know.
####An early BETA launch will teach you more than a delayed promise.
####All applications are pretty when your screen is off.
####Do not pick a framework for its demo page, instead pick it for its code.
####You cannot set a web standard alone.
####A poor programmer blames the language.
####The code's writin' but ain't nobody programming.
####Mañana often has the most tickets.
####Never optimize before measuring
####Think about your dance moves when drunk, next time you try to code with some beers on your count.
####What happens in Git stays in Git
####Simpler code has less bugs.
####Lock up your dependency versions and other valuables.
####Quantity of attempts often yields quality at the end. Commitment to refactoring legacy code yields better quality yet.
####Accept that some days you're the QA and some days you're the one fixing bugs.
####Give a programmer the correct code and he can do his work for a day. Teach a programmer to debug and he can do his work for a lifetime - by Chirag Gude
####Debugging becomes significantly easier if you first admit that you are the problem.
####Figure out your data structures, and the code will follow.
####Code is not perfect, when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to cut out.