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The Law of Parsimony

In philosophy, the law of parsimony (a.k.a., Ockham's razor) states that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferred to more complex ones. To the software designer, this means that the simplest approach to providing the required functionality is usually the best. Creating unnecessary complexities and obfuscation does not make one a better coder. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. From my experience, the best programmers, regardless of language, are those with a gift for being able to create solutions to intricate problems from simple inventions and techniques. The best code has a sense of elegance to it that derives from its simplicity. It is better code because it is simpler code.

In his book Refactoring: ...