Aesthetics and the Evolution of Code
summary
A 2014 survey rates six languages across API CLI documentation UI and readability and produces an aesthetic index with Python first Ruby second JavaScript third; a refactoring effort at Instructure moving a monolith (Canvas, millions of users) toward services frames claims about how aesthetics shape evolution; a four‑axis matrix — correctness performance concision readability — scores code; examples include nature‑inspired algorithms in Ruby that are long and procedural and historical analogies (Johnny Appleseed, apple breeding) showing artificial selection.
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chapters (20)
- 0:00Start
- 0:20@Coraline Ada
- 0:43context
- 0:58legacy
- 1:38Elegance
- 2:22experiential
- 2:34cognitive
- 6:16genotypes
- 10:24what do genes want?
- 10:46The Green Beard
- 11:41what does code want?
- 12:27how does code get what it wants?
- 13:27evolution & programming
- 13:56applications
- 14:15support & maintenance
- 21:58We are humans working with humans to develop software for the benefit of humans.
- 22:14why do we care about quality?
- 23:20theory of alienation
- 23:30self-determination
- 23:58ownership
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