I've had this experience. It took me a while before I realized that a decent chunk of hairy tricky code could be avoided if I just started out with an appropria

I've had this experience. It took me a while before I realized that a decent chunk of hairy tricky code could be avoided if I just started out with an appropriate data structure in the first place. Starting with a good data structure in the first place is almost like starting with the solution for a surprisingly large amount of problems. Now, whenever I find myself getting confused I try to think really hard about where I went wrong. Good code is like good prose. If you have to read it six times to understand what is happening, the writing sucks.