Rule 2 - Adhere to the KISS Principle [Official ABAP Programming Guidelines]
Official ABAP Programming Guidelines by Horst Keller and Wolf Hagen Thümmel
Rule 2 - Adhere to the KISS Principle
Adhere to the KISS principle, and limit the complexity of your programs as much as possible.
I believe simple is good. If you are a programmer, you should always choose the simplest solution for a problem, program, implementation, etc.
What is KISS?
KISS is an acronym for the design principle “keep it simple and stupid”, most commonly read as the backronym “keep it simple, stupid!”, or sometimes “keep it short and simple” or “keep it simple and straightforward”. The KISS principle states that simplicity should be a key goal in design, and that unnecessary complexity should be avoided.
Let me list some meanings:
- Keep It Simple, Stupid
- Keep It Small and Simple
- Keep It Sweet and Simple
- Keep It Simple and Straightforward
- Keep It Short and Simple
- Keep It Simple and Smart
- Keep It Strictly Simple
When I look some old ABAP programs I understand how KISS principle is important. I have seen so poor designed programs and undisciplined programming styles. I understand that programmers, developers, consultants sometimes are in rush. They think the quick solution is the best! No, it’s not! Probably quick solution is a quick-and-dirty solution. No KISS principle, no documentation, no configuration/customizing options, requires programming for maintenance, etc.
Don’t you feel relaxed and simile if you see a program that is well designed like an excellent machine, a poem, an art painting, a song?
Therefore, do simple but great, smart, excellent, straightforward, beautiful programs.
Even you can do code re-factoring for old programs. I frequently do code re-factoring for old programs. I have own better programs day by day in the system. But you know sometimes changing a program is harder than creating from scratch. All we know one of our duties is cleaning.
Reference:
- KISS principle [Wikipedia]
- Code refactoring [Wikipedia]
- Quick-and-dirty [Wikipedia]
