Understanding others code can be difficult, frustrating, or just plain tedious.  But who wouldn&#x27;t have to do it?  When software isn&#x27;t working, seems to be a normal part of figuring out where things are going wrong, which is a normal part of fixing bugs, etc.<p>Of course, it&#x27;s agonizingly ironic to discover that reviewing one&#x27;s own code written long ago may be no easier to decipher.  It&#x27;s a humbling experience when it happens, but what would ever teach the lesson more effectively about writing code that can be read by mere humans.<p>I know it makes me think about the variable names I use, the merit of &quot;one-liners&quot;, how much white space to leave, and the clarity of explanatory comments, among other things.
It&#x27;s a form of art to know when to be verbose and when not to be.<p>Some programmers may be superior &quot;code artists&quot;, but every programmer should be able to write well enough.