SmartCodingTips

πŸ’‘ DRY & KISS Principles in JavaScript

When writing code, it's important to keep it clean, simple, and maintainable. Two core software design principles that help with this are DRY and KISS.


πŸ” DRY – Don’t Repeat Yourself

DRY means avoiding repetition in your code. Repeating the same logic or structure in multiple places increases the chances of bugs and makes code harder to maintain.

πŸ’₯ Bad Example:

let area1 = 10 * 5;
let area2 = 20 * 5;
let area3 = 30 * 5;
// Repeating the same formula

βœ… DRY Version:

function calculateArea(length, width) {
  return length * width;
}

let area1 = calculateArea(10, 5);
let area2 = calculateArea(20, 5);
let area3 = calculateArea(30, 5);
βœ… Tip: If you're copy-pasting code, it's a good sign you should refactor it.

🧠 KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid

KISS encourages you to keep your code simple and easy to understand. Avoid over-engineering and writing overly complex logic when a simpler alternative exists.

πŸ’₯ Bad Example:

function isEven(num) {
  if (num % 2 === 0) {
    return true;
  } else {
    return false;
  }
}

βœ… KISS Version:

const isEven = num => num % 2 === 0;
🧹 Tip: Simple code is easier to debug, test, and collaborate on with teammates.

πŸ§ͺ Final Thoughts

  • DRY helps reduce bugs and future-proof your logic
  • KISS makes your code easier to understand and maintain
  • Together, they improve code readability and quality

Stick to these principles in every project β€” they’re simple, but powerful habits that separate clean code from messy chaos.