DEV Community

Cover image for 10 Software Engineering Proverbs/quotes I Wrote in the Past Months
Geshan Manandhar
Geshan Manandhar

Posted on • Originally published at geshan.com.np

10 Software Engineering Proverbs/quotes I Wrote in the Past Months

In the past months, I was tweeting some insightful and enlightening software engineering proverbs. Like the one below:

I browsed through my twitter timeline and collected them in one place.

Here are the quotes with visuals :

There is no pill to convert yourself as a good programmer, it takes lots of reading, learning and practice. So start now.

An open pull request (PR) is a liability in at least 2 ways. 1 it’s a feature/fix not shipped to customers. 2 it will invite code conflicts soon.

Talking about automated testing and Continuous Integration(CI) is easy, balancing it with delivery and cost as a web shop manager is hard.

Having automated tests but no Continuous Integration(CI) is like having a sword but letting it rot.

You cannot follow everything by the book. It’s generally an ish implementation like Agileish, Kanbanish and RESTish.

If you are thinking of a software product idea, make a pain killer people can’t live without not an optional vitamin people can and will skip.

Software engineers have power to create great solutions but the best software to solve the least important problem is of no use.

Programmers/developers need to become software engineers. Think of solution then technology to implement it. Think of abstractions then code.

Software developers are solution providers first, engineers second. Solution should have business value than using the latest tech fad.

If you don’t sharpen your axe then it will take more time and effort to cut the tree. Same goes for software development.

Disclaimer

I have not created all of them, some of them are inspired/adapted from things I read online and podcasts I listen to. Thanks.


Originally published at geshan.com.np.

Top comments (14)

Collapse
 
quii profile image
Chris James

More impact

Collapse
 
xdefn profile image
Abraham

Everything fine but the one about programmers becoming engineers.

I don't really see the difference. Just people making the same job according to their experience / knowledge / motivation.

Martin Fowler calls himself "programmer".

It is like the difference between "developer" and "architect". The role of architect should be a part of the role of developer.

I think it depends very much on the company's culture.

Collapse
 
geshan profile image
Geshan Manandhar

Yes it is company culture too.

Collapse
 
pzelnip profile image
Adam Parkin • Edited

Nice list!

Couple ones I like that come to mind:

"Taking shortcuts is often a quick road to trouble" - not sure who coined this

"Make the change easy, then make the easy change" - Kent Beck

"I'm not great developer, I'm a good developer with great habits" - also Kent Beck

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay

Collapse
 
bwilcutt profile image
Bryan Wilcutt • Edited

Here's some of mine:

Heisenbug Principal: You know where the bug is but can't fix it, or you can fix it but you don't know where the bug is. Only through Jack Daniel's shall you know both.

Schrodinger's Bug: It's not a bug until the customer observes it.

Microsoft QA: Why use a QA team when customers are cheaper?

Collapse
 
test1975 profile image
Test

The modest collection I curate: q4td.blogspot.com/search/label/pro...

“Inside every well-written large program is a well-written small program.”

— C. A. R. Hoare

Collapse
 
pierre profile image
Pierre-Henry Soria ✨

Thanks for sharing Geshan! 👍

Collapse
 
geshan profile image
Geshan Manandhar

Welcome.

Collapse
 
david_j_eddy profile image
David J Eddy

Love 'em!

Collapse
 
rafaelcg profile image
Rafael Corrêa Gomes

Excellent Geshan, thanks for sharing!

Collapse
 
yorodm profile image
Yoandy Rodriguez Martinez

So people can make wallpapers and vision boards. It's a millenial thing. Joke aside: I know a lot of people that should benefit from having at least some of those in a vision board

Collapse
 
drozerah profile image
Drozerah

A tiny quotes generator on the field of programming I've created some month ago : Get App, stand app!