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The Principle Behind the Practice

Understanding why we do the things we do

Tyler Hawkins
Better Programming
7 min readFeb 7, 2022

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Photo by Johann Siemens on Unsplash

There are principles and there are practices. A principle is a universal truth that is applicable everywhere. A practice is a specific implementation of a principle and can vary based on the situation.

Understanding the difference between the two is an important step in becoming wise. When you understand the principle behind the practice, you understand why we do the things we do. You understand the rules and also when to break the rules. Understanding the principle behind the practice helps you to be more flexible and apply good judgment in your day-to-day decisions.

Let’s explore some principles and practices in the world of software engineering.

Testing and Verification

It’s generally accepted as a good practice to write tests for your code. If we agree that we should write tests, some follow-up questions might be:

  1. How much code coverage is enough?
  2. At what level should I write my tests? Unit, integration, or end-to-end?
  3. When is it ok to not write tests?

These are all good questions. Industry experts have voiced their opinions, I have my opinions, and I’m sure you have opinions of your own as well…

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Tyler Hawkins
Tyler Hawkins

Written by Tyler Hawkins

Staff software engineer. Continuous learner. Educator. http://tylerhawkins.info

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