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shaheen amjed
shaheen amjed

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Clean Code vs. Quick Hacks — The Hidden Cost Every Developer Should Understand

When deadlines are tight, most of us are tempted to write quick hacks. “I’ll just fix it later,” we say. But here’s the truth: later rarely comes. Those hacks pile up, turning into what’s known as technical debt — and technical debt is one of the biggest reasons projects collapse.

Why quick hacks feel good (but aren’t)

In the short term, hacks feel like progress. You deliver a feature faster, you impress your manager or client, and everyone’s happy. But that short-term gain hides the long-term cost: bugs, instability, and endless firefighting.

The cost of dirty code

Harder onboarding → New developers take weeks to understand spaghetti code.

More bugs → Small changes break unrelated features because the system isn’t predictable.

Slower development → Every new feature takes longer because you’re fighting with the old mess.

The power of clean code

Clean code isn’t about being fancy — it’s about clarity. Anyone should be able to read your code and understand it. Some simple practices that go a long way:

Write descriptive variable and function names.

Keep functions small — each should do one thing well.

Remove duplication — don’t copy-paste logic, refactor it.

Add comments only when necessary. The code itself should be self-explanatory.

💡 Takeaway: Writing clean code might feel slower today, but it’s the fastest way forward tomorrow. Quick hacks win the sprint, but clean code wins the marathon.

-shaheen amjed
-https://shaheen-amjed.vercel.app

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