Saturate Code Simplification
Simpler code isn't fewer lines. It's code that's easier to read, understand, and change.
Progress Checklist
- Understand why the code exists (Chesterton's Fence)
- Define scope of simplification
- Make one change at a time
- Verify after each change
- Ensure project conventions are followed
Step 0: Chesterton's Fence
Before removing or rewriting anything, understand why it exists.
# Who wrote this and when?
git blame path/to/file
# What was the commit about?
git log --oneline -5 -- path/to/file
# Was there a PR? What was the context?
git log --format="%H %s" -5 -- path/to/file
Look for:
- Linked work items or issue numbers in commit messages
- PR descriptions explaining the reasoning
- Comments explaining workarounds (browser quirks, API limitations, business rules)
- Tests that depend on this specific behavior
If you don't understand why something is there, don't remove it. Ask first.
Step 1: Define Scope
Only simplify what was requested or what you're currently working on.
Don't:
- Simplify unrelated code you noticed while passing through
- Combine simplification with feature work in the same change
- "Improve" code style to your personal preference over project conventions
Step 2: One Change at a Time
Each simplification should be a single, reviewable change:
- Make the change
- Run tests:
npm test,go test ./...,dotnet test, etc. - Check types:
tsc --noEmit,go vet, etc. - If tests pass, move to the next simplification
- If tests fail, your change altered behavior - revert and reconsider
Common Simplification Opportunities
Structural
- Deeply nested if/else that can be flattened with early returns
- Large functions that do multiple things (extract smaller functions)
- Duplicated logic that can be extracted (but only if used 3+ times)
- Complex conditionals that can be named variables:
const isEligible = age >= 18 && hasConsent
Unnecessary Complexity
- Abstractions with a single implementation (remove the interface, keep the implementation)
- Config/options for things that are never configured differently
- "Just in case" error handling for impossible states
- Wrapper functions that just pass through to another function
Readability
- Magic numbers that should be named constants
- Boolean parameters that make call sites unreadable
- Overly clever one-liners that are hard to debug
What NOT to Simplify
- Error handling that looks redundant but covers real edge cases
- "Verbose" code that's actually clear and easy to debug
- Framework boilerplate that other developers expect to see
- Performance-critical code that's optimized intentionally (check git blame)
- Code you don't fully understand yet
Anti-Patterns
- Removing error handling to "simplify"
- Premature abstraction: extracting a helper for something used once
- "Simplifying" by using clever language features that obscure intent
- Mixing refactoring with behavior changes
- Simplifying someone else's code without understanding the context