BaseCode: A Field Guide to Writing More Readable Code

BaseCode by Jason McCreary is a field guide containing real-world practices to help you write code that's less complex and more readable.

This week Jason announced that the book is now free for everyone:

I wrote BaseCode a few years ago to distill the tips I learned over 20 years of programming into 10 practices for writing more readable code.

I've decided to make the book FREE as I want these practices to be available to all developers. 👩🏻‍💻🧑🏾‍💻https://t.co/UrC7DcRYKT

— Jason McCreary 🎻 (@gonedark) April 13, 2022

The BaseCode Lite Kit contains the book (PDF, ePub, and mobi formats) and code samples for free once you register. You can also purchase the Mid and Full Kits, which include the audio version of BaseCode and other premium offerings.

BaseCode focuses on code readability and other skills around writing clean, maintainable code for humans:

• Writing code that prioritizes readability by humans, not a computer
• Avoiding code rot with analysis and automation
• Untangling nested code to improve visual honesty and reduce reader overhead
• Introducing objects to encapsulate complexity
• Refactoring long blocks of code by understanding reading levels
• Making naming things easy with context and time
• Using code as the primary signal, not comments
• Avoiding unnecessary code by using reasonable return values
• Delaying the need to remove duplication with the Rule of Three
• Improving code flow with symmetry
• Deferring design decisions to reduce anxiety when writing code

The code examples in the book are written in PHP. However, the concepts and theory apply to all languages and are helpful to developers of various experience levels.

Check out the BaseCode field guide today, and be sure to share this excellent resource with colleagues and friends!