Vital statistics

As with many software houses, we have tried various ways of measuring and monitoring the 'quality' of the code we produce. We are not blacksmiths forging ornate, wrought iron gates that welcome visitors to the stately homes that they protect. We are not carpenters creating polished dining tables that provide the social focus for a very special dinner party.

We write code, code that is often compiled into some indecipherable intermediate language and then laid at the mercy of a virtual machine. It cannot be directly admired by its users; even when displaying information, it renders results that are presented on a screen that has been designed by a graphics designer or business analyst. Often it displays nothing at all, quite happy to sit far from the limelight in a cold, dark server room that provides more comfort to mushrooms than human beings.

Despite its intangible nature, it is what we produce and it defines and differentiates us as solution providers. It is every bit as important to us as the gates and tables are to the blacksmith and the carpenter. Few people would argue that quality of code is important but in order to measure it properly we first need a suitable definition.

Of course there is no absolute, irrefutable description for 'software quality' and there are as many opinions (most probably more) than there are IT professionals. Many runners jostle at the starting line in the race for software excellence: coding standards, performance, bugs per developer...even cyclic complexity! My suggestion is to judge code on its simplicity.

Simple code is easier to maintain. The problem with code maintenance is that it is usually done a long time after the original code was written and by somebody that didn't write the original code. Code maintenance often occurs after software has been released where the cost of change is highest.



Simple code is easier to understand. Being frustrated for hours by a design pattern implementation or sample code from an anonymous expert on the internet that doesn't quite work as expected is usually an indication that you should try something else. If you don't understand it now then how will it appear in 6 months time to someone else that has to fix a critical bug, immediately, with no previous knowledge of your code or the system it belongs to?

Simple code is self describing. It does not require copious comments or armies of related documentation fighting to remain up to date with each change that is made to the associated software. Of course, comments are a good thing but only if they accurately describe the code they represent; this is often not the case. It could be argued that no documentation is better than inaccurate or outdated documents where false assumptions are easily made. Either way, the simpler the code, the less need there is to refer to supporting documentation.

Simple code requires less effort to produce. The Cocomo II project provides comprehensive analysis of factors that contribute to increased effort in software implementation. Platform experience, appropriate software tools, multisite development and time constraints, along with many others, all play second fiddle to product complexity in terms of increasing effort.

A good story can be enjoyed even if scribbled in crayon on crumpled paper. However, print in a legible font, on good quality paper, add page numbers and chapters, a preface and an index, sprinkle with artistic illustrations and suddenly it springs to life. In a similar way, simple code is enhanced by good coding standards, proper indentation, sufficient comments and a pragmatic design. In fact, simple code is defined by these attributes rather than merely enhanced by them.

As developers, we often strive for the perfect design and implementation. Sometimes it is the ability to compromise effectively that produces the best results; it is left to the reader to decide whether worse can be better.

In any event, keep it simple and the rest will follow - and you won't find yourself cursing in 6 months time when you have to refactor your optimised code :-)