Chapter 8
Code

Thus far, we’ve examined aspects of programmer life that have little to do with the very thing we get paid to do. This chapter takes us back home, to our roots, to the very thing we use to earn our keep.

Code is our essential material. But we typically don’t think about code in the same way that any other builder thinks of their raw material.

Unlike any other kind of builder, we have an infinite supply of our material. Today we can distribute it to anyone, anywhere; distance plays no factor. We can replicate what we build at will. We can rapidly build upon and extend layers of code with more code. There’s no time needed to let it dry or settle. No other medium in the real, physical world plays like ours does. And for those reasons, it’s easy to take code for granted.

This chapter is about how we relate to code; it’s an homage to the raw ingredient we use every day. I believe that the best programmers have a true relationship with code. They use code only when it’s absolutely necessary, borrow code from others only when it’s right, and even build their own frameworks with code when posed with the right challenge.