What is minimalism in programming?
There is a whole school of thinking in software engineering and programming. The concept of minimalism originated in the early 1960s when a minimalist art movement emerged in New York. The artists believed that art had become obsolete and academic and tried to reveal the essence of their objects with as few elements as possible to create the maximum effect. In essence, it translates minimalist philosophy into the design of a graphical user interface using as few resources as possible. According to minimalist programmers, this means designing simpler products, introducing complexities and external dependencies only when necessary, and thus also minimizing potential points of failure.
One of the principles followed by minimalist software engineers is the effort to implement Pareto's law, where a 20% effort can yield 80% of the final results, maintain a clear design, and eliminate unnecessary distractions. When it comes to the minimalism user experience, an application can do one or two things very well compared to applications that try to do everything for you, which often means that it is not as shiny in its approach.
The principle of minimalism resonated with many other subcultures and has since been applied in aesthetics, politics, architecture, lifestyle design and business management. The idea was also accepted in the software. Code minimalism is about simplifying code by maintaining a minimalist aesthetic state.
Minimalism came to the fore at the beginning of the 21st century, which brought new developments in the field of computer technology. In what is called the post-PC era, it is no longer necessary to purchase a higher-class personal computer just to perform common computing tasks. Mobile computing devices, such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and plug-ins, often have less memory capacity, less capable graphics subsystems, and slower processors compared to a personal computer that is expected to replace it. Besides, the intensive use of graphic effects such as alpha blending drains the battery faster than "flat UI". The growing popularity of these devices has made minimalism an important design issue.
Google Chrome and Chrome OS are often cited as examples of minimalist design. In Windows 8, Microsoft decided to move away from the graphically demanding Aero user interface in favour of a "simple, square" metro look that required fewer system resources. This change was made in part due to the growth of smaller battery-powered devices and the need to save energy. Apple's iOS version 7 made similar changes due to the user experience.
And how to write minimized code?
Minimalism is sometimes used in the sense of fine art, especially in the industrial design of a hardware device or software theme. Some developers have tried to create programs to perform a certain function in the smallest number of lines of code or the smallest compiled executable size on a given platform. Some Linux distributions target minimalism, such as Alpine Linux, Arch Linux, Puppy Linux, Bodhi Linux, CrunchBang Linux, dynebolic and Tiny Core Linux.
Programming language designers can create minimal programming languages by avoiding syntactic sugar and extensive library functions. In computer science, syntactic sugar is a syntax within a programming language that is designed to make things easier to read or to express. It makes the language "sweeter" for human use: things can be expressed more clearly, more concisely, or in an alternative style that some may prefer. Turing tarpites can be such languages because they do not offer standard support for common programming tasks. Creating a minimal Lisp interpreter is a common lesson for computer science students. Lambda calculus, developed by Alonzo Church, is a minimal programming language that uses only function definitions and functional applications. The Forth and Go diagrams are given as examples of practical, minimal programming languages. Code golf's programming hobby results in minimalist software but is usually practice or code poetry, not usable application software.
User interface researchers have conducted experiments that suggest that minimalism, as evidenced by the design principles of parsimony and transparency, increases efficiency and the ability to learn. Minimalism is implicit in Unix's "all is a text stream" and "do one thing and do it well" philosophies, although modern Unix / Linux distributions do not adhere to this philosophy.
Most software developers would be familiar with some minimum coding conventions, such as the DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) rule. The fewer characters used in the code and the simpler the command statements, the easier it will be to read and understand the code. However, it is important to find a balance between creating simplified, clear code, and maintaining understanding. There is no point in writing clean, minimal code if it is too cryptic or difficult to understand, or if it does not make full use of language. The goal is to elegantly condense the code while achieving the maximum effect of that code.
In addition to appreciating the aesthetics of intelligently created and simplified code, it is useful to strive for simplicity, because in this case there may be less often. Code minimization means that there is limited dependence on a particular programmer, which can allow for smoother workflows and project transitions and the ability to work independently.
For example, if a programmer writes code for a company or project and is moved, someone else will have to come and read its code. If the code is not easy to understand, switching to another programmer will take longer and probably frustrating. Trying to understand someone else's code could be a nightmare when it comes to automating debugging. The more readable the code, the easier it is to detect errors and resolve them. The simplified code refers to more than pure composition and arrangement. It is about applying a structured set of rules, a well-established foundation, and building complete trust in your tools. It's the feeling you get when simplicity and freedom meet.
Remember that we need to read and code to other people (not machines) so that they can read and understand them, so simple language is the key to effective communication. Try to keep your technique as small as possible with limited restrictions, single-responsibility classes, and avoid unnecessary comments.
In short, code minimalism is about striving for simplicity, maximizing the benefits of minimal effort, and reducing reliance on creating more autonomy. The work will be improved and completed, not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing left to take.