Basic Principles of Software Engineering Approach
Benedict Anthony
October 14th 2024
Software Engineering
Software Engineering is a system engineering method to developing software products and applications. It is a discipline of engineering that deals with evaluating user requirements, designing, developing, testing, and maintaining software products. Better Requirement Analysis is a basic software engineering technique that provides a clear picture of the project. Finally, a solid understanding of user requirements adds value to its consumers by delivering a good software solution that meets their expectations. Now let's take a look at some of the suggested principles in software development
Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS)
Keep things simple, stupid. The KISS principle states that designs and/or systems should be as simple as possible. Wherever possible, complexity should be minimized in a system since simplicity ensures the highest levels of user acceptability and interaction. KISS is utilized in a wide range of fields, including interface design, product design, and software development.The KISS concept is crucial because it has a direct impact on product success. If our users don't comprehend a product, they won't use it. Not only is it significant for the end user experience, but it is also relevant for product managers—the more complexity we build into our products, the more difficult it will be to maintain them.
Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY)
The DRY (don't repeat yourself) philosophy is a recommended practice in software development that advises developers to do something only once. The concept, which is frequently attributed to Andrew Hunt and David Thomas, authors of "The Pragmatic Programmer," is the tongue-in-cheek reverse of the WET principle, which stands for "write everything twice." The DRY principle states that any discrete chunk of knowledge should have a single, clear, authoritative representation within a system. The DRY philosophy aims to reduce technical debt by reducing redundancies in process and logic whenever possible.
Write Everything Twice (WET)
Take a moment to reflect... Which acronym sounds like the best coding practice? If your intuition led you to DRY, you'd be correct. Well, 90 percent of the time. As a programmer, you should strive to keep your code DRY, which means not repeating it. However, there are situations when adding moisture to your code might make life easier. Perhaps most importantly, using DRY code decreases the possibility of error. Consider making a modification to identical code in five distinct places, but forgetting to update one of them. Do you see the problem? Your software will either crash or, worse, execute an out-of-date process while pretending to function normally. However, there are certain advantages to using WET code. If you expect the same code to fork in various directions later on, having WET code may make such future modification easier.
You Aren't Gonna Need It (YAGNI)
The "you aren't gonna need it" approach, derived from extreme programming, asserts that a programmer should not add functionality unless it is judged necessary. Other versions of the phrase include "You aren't going to need it" and "You ain't gonna need it." The "KISS" principle, which promotes design simplicity and the avoidance of needless complexity, and the YAGNI principle are closely related concepts. Instead than attempting to predict and satisfy potential future needs, both principles advise developers to concentrate on providing the simplest solution that satisfies the present requirements.