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I believe you're conflating simplicity/complexity with flexibility. _One_ hallmark of developer ability is the discretion/wisdom/experience to know how flexibl
by wellpast 8y ago
I believe you're conflating simplicity/complexity with flexibility.
_One_ hallmark of developer ability is the discretion/wisdom/experience to know how flexible to make the thing. (How to prioritize and limit feature-creep, etc.)
But this is different than Simplicity. A general purpose programming language or database -- highly flexible/generic systems -- for example, can be built well/simple. But so can highly _specific_ systems.
In both cases though, one can build something that is decoupled and manipulable or one can build something that is coupled and rigid -- and the ability to do so is a function of skill set _not intrinsically_ a function of time. In other words, a skilled developer doesn't have to "take time" to deliver a Simple capability.
- AstralStorm 8y agoSometimes you just want a hammer, not a swiss army knife. And sometimes it is good to have a replaceable head on the hammer.
- wellpast 8y agoYes! And the property of Simplicity is orthogonal to whether or not you chose to make the Knife or the Hammer. A Hammer's construction can be Simple. A Knife's construction can be Simple. Or not.