Programing like NASA, the Power of Ten

Should you program like NASA?

Programming is a discipline that requires both speed and integrity. The best developers balance rapid iteration with careful checking, ensuring that their code is robust, maintainable, and adaptable over time. That’s where structured coding principles—like those found in the Power of Ten—may help.

Originally developed for safety-critical systems, the Power of Ten outlines constraints that slow down the creation of code to help prevent issues or to allow static code analysis to find issues programmers don't.

However, arbitrary restrictions often do not make sense. While some guidelines improve clarity and prevent common pitfalls, others can be overly pedantic, adding unnecessary friction without tangible benefits. In this video, I review how to pick and choose from the Power of Ten, adopting what helps while rejecting constraints that impose needless headaches.