Question

There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies.

C.A.R. Hoare, 1980 ACM Turing Award Lecture

A large program is a costly program, and not just because of the time it takes to build. Size almost always involves complexity, and complexity confuses programmers. Confused programmers, in turn, tend to introduce mistakes (bugs) into programs. A large program also provides a lot of space for these bugs to hide, making them hard to find.

Let’s briefly go back to the final two example programs in the introduction. The first is self-contained and six lines long.

var total = 0, count = 1;
while (count <= 10) {
  total += count;
  count += 1;
}
console.log(total);

The second relies on two external functions and is one line long.

console.log(sum(range(1, 10)));

Which one is more likely to contain a bug?

If we count the size of the definitions of sum and range , the second program is also big—even bigger than the first. But still, I’d argue that it is more likely to be correct.

It is more likely to be correct because the solution is expressed in a vocabulary that corresponds to the problem being solved. Summing a range of numbers isn’t about loops and counters. It is about ranges and sums.

The definitions of this vocabulary (the functions sum and range ) will still involve loops, counters, and other incidental details. But because they are expressing simpler concepts than the program as a whole, they are easier to get right.

This is a book about getting computers to do what you want them to do. Computers are about as common as screwdrivers today, but they contain a lot more hidden complexity and thus are harder to operate and understand. To many, they remain alien, slightly threatening things.