My Three Programming Golden Rules

Three Golden Rules of Programming

The speaker shares three principles for making better programming decisions and tackling software projects.

1. Don’t apply one approach to everything

Programmers can become overly attached to a language, framework, library, paradigm, or design technique that worked well in a past project. This can lead to overusing design patterns, forcing functional techniques onto problems that require state changes, or choosing a favored framework regardless of its suitability.

Instead, consider the available options with an open mind and choose the approach that best fits the problem. The goal isn’t to avoid any particular technique, but to avoid treating one as universally correct.

2. Don’t plan for a future that probably won’t happen

Avoid spending time building flexibility for hypothetical scenarios—for example, creating an elaborate database abstraction layer when a company is unlikely to switch database systems. That infrastructure may never be used and could be discarded when the system is eventually replaced.

Planning ahead is worthwhile when a change is genuinely expected within a reasonable timeframe, such as supporting planned game DLC or preparing for an announced API change.

3. Break large tasks into smaller steps

Big problems can feel intimidating and linger on a task list while less important work gets done instead. Divide the work into manageable pieces, even if the first steps only address the edges of the problem.

For example, before integrating a new feature with existing code, refactor that code to make integration easier. This creates a concrete starting point, builds understanding and confidence, and helps generate momentum toward the harder work.

Overall Advice

Choose tools and techniques based on the problem, avoid speculative work, and make daunting tasks more approachable by breaking them down.

Speaker/source: One unnamed speaker, the video’s narrator.