---
title: Good Code
slug: good-code
date: Nov 2, 2019
published: false
---

I find great satisfaction in writing beautiful code. Very few will ever see this effort and appreciate it, but it is deeply gratifying. We can tell whether our code is high quality. We can predict how often and when it will need to be revisited, whether our coworkers can easily understand it, whether it is easy to use and extend, and whether it meets our personal standards of completeness and correctness.

This type of creative output is quickly becoming more important to me. It is a different type of aesthetic, less superficial and more fulfilling.

I like to think of good code as the walls on which many coats of paint will be applied.

Good code should outlast us, when many designs will not.

It's almost ethical — deeply considering how we leave the codebase for our future selves or others.
