Programming principles and philosophy based on Rob Pike's 5 Rules of Programming. Use this skill when making optimization decisions, choosing between simple and complex algorithms, designing data structures, evaluating performance tuning approaches, or reviewing code for unnecessary complexity.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/programming-principles:programming-principlesThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
Rob Pike's 5 Rules of Programming and related engineering wisdom for writing simple, correct, and efficient code.
Rob Pike's 5 Rules of Programming and related engineering wisdom for writing simple, correct, and efficient code.
Reference these guidelines when:
| Priority | Category | Impact | Prefix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Measure Before Optimizing | CRITICAL | meas- |
| 2 | Profile Before Tuning | CRITICAL | prof- |
| 3 | Simplicity Over Fancy Algorithms | HIGH | simp- |
| 4 | Simple Means Correct | HIGH | corr- |
| 5 | Data Dominates | HIGH | data- |
Read individual rule files for detailed explanations and examples:
references/meas-no-premature-optimization.mdreferences/prof-measure-then-tune.mdreferences/simp-small-n.mdreferences/corr-simple-algorithms.mdreferences/data-structures-first.mdreferences/_sections.mdEach rule file contains:
| Principle | One-liner |
|---|---|
| No premature optimization | Bottlenecks occur in surprising places |
| Measure first | Don't tune until you've measured |
| Keep it simple | Fancy algorithms have big constants |
| Simple = correct | Fancy algorithms are buggier |
| Data dominates | Right data structures make algorithms obvious |
npx claudepluginhub bbaktaeho/bbaktaeho-agent-skills --plugin programming-principlesEnforces Rob Pike's 5 rules for measurement-driven performance optimization, preventing premature code changes without profiling data. Activates on speed complaints or optimization requests.
Applies SRP, DRY, YAGNI, naming, error handling, dependency direction, and Kent Beck's four rules of simple design when writing, reviewing, or refactoring code.
Enforces Torvalds-inspired guidelines prioritizing data structures, simplicity, hardware limits, surgical changes, verifiable proofs, and bogus code detection during code generation and review.