Approach 2 code

How do you approach coding?

During a professional career, each one of us develop a certain coding style and have some coding preferences. We use and reuse certain coding patterns that in time can become our trademark. The process of finding the perfect approach to coding takes years. During those years you filter out all the bad habits you have, and embrace new good ones. Actually, you are perfecting your style constantly but, at some point, you think "your way" is so perfect that you don't want to change (or add) anything.

I can speak for myself and say that my "coding style" has become somewhat of a "coding obsession". When I am asked to tweak a css property here and there on a site that I didn't develop, I find myself editing and organizing entire style sheet to my preferences. I am like those housewives that first have to clean up the entire kitchen before making a cup of coffee. Don't have to tell you how much more time I spend that way. I usually do this things to improve the code and do my client a favor, but I sometimes rewrite it just because it's not formatted the way I like it! I mean, it's a good peace of code and I am still making modifications. But, hey, don't get me wrong, it's not that I am not a tolerant and flexible person :) I love people and their work! I do!

The difference between the two

So, where is that thin line between purist and a freak? Well, each one will definitely try to improve a poor code, no doubt about that. But the difference is when they take over someone else's good code. Purist will embrace the coding patterns the developer before him used and continue in the same way. Freak? He (or she) will modify entire code to his own preferences, search for a way to optimize two lines of code into one, spend hours on moving properties, classes, functions up and down until the perfect harmony is found, will be persistent enough to go through each line and delete those darn, no-good white spaces after brackets... You may call it obsession, but to freaks there's no other way :