What are YAGNI, DRY and KISS principles in software development?

Introduction

This Answer will discuss three essential software development principles: YAGNI, DRY and KISS. Every programmer should know these principles to write better code.

YAGNI

The YAGNI principle is an acronym for "You Aren't Gonna Need It." This principle is often applied in Agile software development. It means that we should not add features or functionality to our software that we don't currently need. This can help simplify our code and make it more robust since we are not adding unnecessary complexity. It also helps us save time and money since we aren't wasting our resources developing features that we may never use. In short, YAGNI is all about keeping our software development simple and focused on the features that we need right now.

DRY

The DRY principle is an acronym for "Don't Repeat Yourself." This principle states that we should not duplicate code or data in our software. Duplication can lead to errors and make our code more difficult to maintain. It's often better to refactor our code to be more concise and easier to understand. The DRY principle can help us make our code more readable and maintainable.

KISS

The KISS principle is an acronym for "Keep It Simple, Stupid." This principle states that we should not add unnecessary complexity to our software. Instead, we should keep our code simple and focused on the task at hand. This will make it easier to understand and maintain our code. KISS can also help improve our software's performance since simpler code is often easier for a computer to execute. In short, the KISS principle is about keeping our code as simple as possible.

Conclusion

The YAGNI principle is closely related to the DRY principle, which states that developers should not duplicate code or functionality unnecessarily. The KISS principle is closely related to the YAGNI principle, stating that software should be kept as simple as possible.

When applied together, these three principles can help us create more robust, maintainable, and understandable software. They can also help to improve the overall quality of our software.