Chapter 2. Keep It Simple

Simplicity should be a core value for all Java programmers, but it's not. Most developers have yet to establish simplicity as a core value. I'll never forget when one of my friends asked for a code review and handed me a nine-page, hideously complex blob with seemingly random Java tokens. All kinds of thoughts swarmed through my mind in a period of seconds. At first, I thought it was a joke, but he kept staring expectantly. My next thought was that he hated me; I couldn't think of anything I'd done to deserve it. Finally, I began to read. After three pages of pure torture, I glanced up. He was grinning from ear to ear. My slackened jaw fell open, and I finally realized that he was proud of this code.

It's a cult. If you've coded for any length of time, you've run across someone from this warped brotherhood. Their creed: if you can write complicated code, you must be good.