Code as Communication.

The code we write is a form of communication. We are telling the computer what to do, but we are also communicating with our colleagues. If we were only communicating with the computer, we could just simply write a bunch of 1s and 0s. That’s all the processor needs. The reason to use higher-level languages is that they help humans understand our intent better.

The goal is to have a coworker be able to quickly glance at our code and immediately catch any problems we might have missed. It also helps our code stand the test of time. At some point when you are no longer there, someone else is going to look at your code. How well does your code communicate what you were trying to accomplish?