KentBeck said this on the XpMailingList (found in XpMailingListQuotes):
"How good the design is doesn't matter near as much as whether the design is getting better or worse. If it is getting better, day by day, I can live with it forever. If it is getting worse, I will die."
The more time goes by the more I realize how true this quote is. It is very, very costly to make code that is beautiful when viewed statically. It is equally costly to fail to make code a little bit simpler every time you touch it.
Some might feel that this applies to other things, such as:
- the company that you work for
- the team you work with
- cleaning a room
- your life
- ...?
[Only thanks to the SearchHelper was I able to find this quote. Google didn't find it (since it doesn't index the Wiki) and YahooGroups' search function didn't find it in the XpMailingList archives.]
It's getting better all the time
I used to get mad at my school
Now I can't complain
The teachers who taught me weren't cool
Now I can't complain
You're holding me down, ah, turning me round, ah
Filling me up with your rules, ooh ooh
I've got to admit it's getting better, better
A little better all the time, it can't get no worse
I have to admit it's getting better, better
It's getting better since you've been mine
Me used to be angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I'm doing the best that I can
Getting so much better all the time...
I used to be cruel to my woman
I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved
Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing the best that I can
Getting so much better all the time...
Lennon & McCartney, "Getting Better", from SargeantPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand
See FearNoCode, BetterOrWorse