worse is better

programmingops culture

The observation that a simpler, less complete design often wins over a more correct but complex one.

Richard Gabriel argued that Unix and C spread precisely because they favored implementation simplicity over completeness, unlike richer designs that were harder to build and port. The phrase is now shorthand for the uncomfortable truth that the technically superior solution does not always win.

Also known as: the New Jersey style, Richard Gabriel

← All glossary entries