Ten Commandments for Wunder Code

During my time at 6Wunderkinder I did my first reviews of real world code. Shortly I noticed that I wrote the same comments over and over again. Consequently I compiled of a list of things which I deemed important and pinned it on our office door:

The 6W #Developer 10 Code Commandments. We're looking for JS & Rails Devs! Come join the family :) http://t.co/knXiBKz8 pic.twitter.com/ymrmBtVf

— 6Wunderkinder (@6Wunderkinder) March 29, 2012

I still stand to this list and update it over time. You might think all these items are no-brainers and do not need to be said. Well, most of the things I still see every single day :-)

Ten Commandments for Wunder Code

1. Write as little code as possible.
2. Understand every line of code you write.
3. Be able to run every function in your head.
4. Optimize your code for reading.
5. Keep related code in close proximity if possible.
6. Avoid redundant/repetitive code. Use descriptive variable names.
7. Obey spelling in variable names and comments.
8. Obey whitespaces and newlines.
9. Delete code instead of commenting.
10. Cleanup dirty code as you spot it.