Programming Concepts Beginner

What is DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself)?

A software development principle that aims to reduce code duplication by abstracting common patterns into reusable components.

DRY states that every piece of knowledge should have a single, unambiguous representation in a system. Duplicate code means duplicate bugs and duplicate maintenance effort. Extract common logic into functions, classes, or modules.

However, premature abstraction can be worse than duplication. The "Rule of Three" suggests abstracting only after seeing the same pattern three times. WET (Write Everything Twice) and AHA (Avoid Hasty Abstractions) are counterbalancing principles that warn against over-abstraction.

Learn More About This Topic

Java Programming for Complete Beginners

Related reading

JavaScript ES6+ Modern Features

Related reading

JavaScript Fundamentals

Related reading

Related Terms

Garbage Collection

An automatic memory management process that identifies and reclaims memory no longer in use by a program.

A bug that occurs when the behavior of software depends on the timing or order of uncontrolled events like thread scheduling.

A programming technique where a function calls itself to solve a problem by breaking it into smaller subproblems.

A data structure that maps keys to values using a hash function, providing average O(1) time complexity for lookups, insertions, and deletions.

Composition over Inheritance

A design principle favoring object composition (has-a relationships) over class inheritance (is-a relationships) for code reuse.

A surface indication in code that usually corresponds to a deeper problem in the system, suggesting the need for refactoring.

View All Programming Concepts Terms →