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There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies and the other way is to make it s

• drawkbox 13y ago
  Being open and readable is also a check on this. Compare for instance the HTTP spec or JSON or XML files to binary file formats of applications. If it is hidden from sight things get ugly fast. Case in point the PSD file format and any Office file format (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/02/19.html). Binary formats are usually only a good idea on the onset, with change it becomes a pile. Binary formats only really work well when you control both endpoints (even then they get crufty), for exchanging information being unreadable leads to many bad things and it a great step backwards. I work in game development and application development and the former really loves binary formats (slowly changing away from that with server and editable needs). In many bugs or crashes the root of the problem is some offset in a binary file or some incorrect custom binary file format node that breaks everything after it. Readable, keyed and debuggable formats are so much better at their root (they can be binary, base64'd, compressed after but at the root they should be standard in some way and able to change without breaking the whole thing).