Programming at a High Level

Jeff Atwood (of the Coding Horror blog) this week pointed out that there are many new high-level JavaScript libraries that allow you to ignore the lower-level JavaScript incompatibilities between browsers. I have used JQuery and can also vouch that using JQuery is incredibly fun and easy to program with.

This is more broadly applicable to other programming languages and libraries, too: Use the highest-level interface that you are able to use to accomplish your task. For example, don't use C when you can use C++. Don't use JavaScript when you can use JQuery. Don't use C++ when you can use C#. Don't use Perl when you can use Ruby.

References:

1. Secrets of the Scripting Ninjas (Coding Horror blog post)

Test Driven Development

We have started using Test Driven Development at work, which is an entirely new way to program. This goes along with our existing use of Agile Development, so we are totally embracing the latest and (hopefully) greatest in programming philosophy.