Summarized  Key Software Design Principles

Here's a summarized table of the key software design principles across all categories, formatted as:

Software Design Principles Comparison Table
 

Principle Name

     Purpose
1 Separation of Concerns (SoC) Organize code around distinct responsibilities.
2 Single Responsibility Principle (SRP) Each module/class should have one reason to change
3 High Cohesion / Low Coupling Create modular, easy-to-maintain systems
4 Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP) Depends on abstractions, not concrete implementations
5 Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) Avoid code duplication
6 KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) Favor simplicity and clarity
7 YAGNI Don't build what you don't yet need
8 Law of Demeter Minimize knowledge of external modules
9 Stable Abstractions Principle Abstract modules should be less likely to change
10 Stable Dependencies Principle Depend on less volatile modules
11 REP / CCP / CRP Ensure cohesive and replaceable components
12 Open/Closed Principle (OCP) Open for extension, closed for modification
13 Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP) Subtypes must be substitutable for base types
14 Interface Segregation Principle (ISP) Prefer many small, specific interfaces
15 Immutability Prefer unchanging data for safety and predictability
16 Pure Functions Functions without side effects
17 Composition over Inheritance Prefer combining simple behaviors over class hierarchies
18 Referential Transparency Same input always yields the same output
19 Shared-nothing Architecture Avoid shared state in concurrent systems
20 Actor Model / Message Passing Safe and isolated concurrency
21 Idempotency Safe retries in distributed systems
22 Reentrancy The function can safely be re-entered
23 Principle of Least Privilege Minimize permissions to reduce the attack surface
24 Fail Securely Default to secure behavior
25 Secure by Design Build in security from the start
26 Defense in Depth Layered security mechanisms
27 Validate Input / Sanitize Output Prevent injections and XSS
28 Testability Code should be easy to test
29 AAA (Arrange-Act-Assert) Structure tests clearly
30 Isolation Independent focused unit tests
31 Given-When-Then Behavior-Driven Development structure
32 Inversion of Control (IoC) Decouple code from its dependencies
33 Ubiquitous Language Shared terminology between devs and domain experts
34 Bounded Context Clear domain boundaries
35 Domain Events Decoupled and reactive business logic
36 Anti-Corruption Layer Shield domain from external changes
37 Readability Over Cleverness Clear code trumps smart but cryptic code
38 Refactor Often Continuously improve design
39 Boy Scout Rule Leave the codebase better than you found it
40 Meaningful Naming Use names that reveal intent
41 Graceful Degradation System continues in limited mode on failure
42 Backpressure Control incoming load
43 Circuit Breakers / Timeouts Prevent cascading failures
44 Retries with Exponential Backoff Robust retry strategy
45 Bulkheads Isolate components to contain failure
46 RESTful Design Predictable and standard APIs
47 HATEOAS Guide clients through API with hyperlinks
48 Statelessness Improve scalability
49 Rate Limiting Prevent abuse
50 Versioning Smooth API evolution
51 Unidirectional Data Flow Predictable state transitions
52 MVC / MVVM Separate presentation from logic
53 Responsive Design Ensure mobile and desktop usability
54 Progressive Enhancement Enhance progressively for capable clients
55 Accessibility (a11y) Inclusive experience for all users
56 Everything as Code Automate Infrastructure and configuration
57 Immutable Infrastructure Prevent configuration drift
58 Shift Left Testing Early in the process, begin testing
59 Observability Measure logs, metrics, and traces
60 Continuous Feedback Fast loops for improvement
61 Normalization / Denormalization Balance performance vs. consistency in DB
62 ACID Strong transactional guarantees
63 BASE Scalability through eventual consistency
64 Schema Evolution Support DB changes over time
65 Indexing Optimize read queries
66 Feedback Loops Keep users informed
67 Perceived Performance Make the system feel fast
68 Consistency Predictable interface and experience
69 Error Prevention & Recovery Help users avoid and recover from errors
70 Single Responsibility per Service Each microservice does one thing well
71 Service Contracts Clear API expectations
72 Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) Loose coupling via events
73 Service Discovery Auto-locate services in dynamic environments
74 Data Ownership Per Service Avoid shared databases
75 Information Hiding Hide internal implementation details
76 Least Common Mechanism Reduce unnecessary shared resources
77 Minimize Mutability Safer and easier to reason about
78 BDUF is Risky Avoid heavy upfront designs
79 Emergent Design Design evolves through refactoring
80 Cognitive Load Awareness Reduce mental overhead for developers
81 Naming is a Design Activity Express system intent through naming
82 EAFP vs. LBYL Idiomatic error handling
83 RAII Predictable resource lifecycle
84 Decorator Pattern Without changing the code, you modify the behavior
85 Strategy Pattern Swap algorithms dynamically
86 Factory Pattern Encapsulate object creation
87 Observer Pattern Subscribe to state changes
88 Circuit Breaker Pattern Isolate failures in distributed systems
89 Self-Documenting Code Clear, intention-revealing code
90 Living Documentation Keep docs in sync with the codebase

 

What is your next step?

Pick one principle from this list and apply it to a recent or current project.

Happy coding!

 

 

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