the sudoku affair

February 5, 2025

Software design is a deliberate process, and requires deliberate effort.

state and trace

January 15, 2025

We want the text to be simple, unsurprising. We want our readers to feel a sense of cozy familiarity.

structuralism

January 8, 2025

To understand a word, we must understand the topology that surrounds it.

senior developer agents

November 27, 2024

Code review is about more than checking for mistakes; it is about ensuring simplicity.

the death of the architect

October 30, 2024

This embarrassment, when you look for it, is plain to see.

making things better

October 23, 2024

Confronted with this dissonance, this ugliness, we inevitably gesture towards a better future.

intent and implication

October 16, 2024

Imagine the year is 2013, and a friend is telling you about their new startup: Uber, but for dog walkers.

structures as paths

October 9, 2024

The simplest explanation is rarely a straight line. To explore our software, a reader must traverse its structures.

decoupling in depth

October 2, 2024

The purpose of each layer is to reduce the audience for the next.

similar, but different

September 25, 2024

A name like 'count' describes its relationship to the surrounding code, the singular way in which it differs. In all other ways, we must assume, it is similar.

transparent like frosted glass

September 18, 2024

A good interface is usually where our explanation ends, but always where it begins.

the simplicity of a fractal

September 10, 2024

An interface suffices whenever the underlying details become textural; we know they exist, but wouldn't notice if they changed.

the simplicity of a limb

September 3, 2024

Evolution is a blind watchmaker; we, on the other hand, can see.

better explanations through coupling

August 27, 2024

A piece can only be understood through its relation to the whole.

glossary

August 23, 2024

Definitions and references for this newsletter's core concepts.

coupling as co-explanation

August 20, 2024

For many in the software industry, "coupling" is a dirty word.

the anatomy of an explanation

August 12, 2024

Every explanation is comprised of three parts, and only one of them is said aloud.

a brief introduction

August 6, 2024

As software designers, our goal is to reduce complexity. We want our software to be easier to understand, and easier to change.