1. Write code that you think is almost trivial. That way it is simple enough to debug. If you think your implementation gives you bragging rights down the pub,

1. Write code that you think is almost trivial. That way it is simple enough to debug. If you think your implementation gives you bragging rights down the pub, its waaaaay too complicated One of my colleagues is a fantastic programmer. Like anyone else he'll occasionally suggest stuff that won't work, but you can tell he's come up with something great when he starts out with "I understand this is trivial, and the stupidest implementation possible, but..." Those ideas have led to some of the most maintainable and debuggable code in our repo.