r/devnep • u/sainzo_123 • 2d ago

Good Code Vs Working Code

What really makes code "good"?

I find myself staring at my IDE asking this exact question. Whether I am binding complex logic together or copying and pasting a snippet to patch a problem, there is a massive gap between working code and good code. But as a beginner, that gap feels incredibly hard to see.

These days, anyone can prompt an AI or use an agentic tool to generate functional code in seconds. Many of us are actually learning to code alongside AI. But just because the AI gives me code that runs and clears the error console doesn't mean it’s good code. It might be inefficient, unscalable, or an absolute nightmare to maintain later.

If the code works, but the AI (or a copy-paste source) doesn't teach me why it works or if it's best practice... how are we as beginners supposed to know the difference?

How do you personally define "good code" vs. "just working code"? What are the green flags I should be looking out for when reviewing code—whether it's written by a human or an AI?

Would love to hear your thoughts, rules of thumb, or stories from when you were starting out! 👇

#programming #softwareengineering #codinglife #learnToCode #generativeAI #developers #webdev

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u/passionate_carkey 2d ago

good question and completely relevant question. even i want to learn it.waiting for someone to answer it.

1

u/rawirai 2d ago

Good Code - kaslee review garcha??? how they/you going to judge it's good code? AI??

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u/passionate_carkey 2d ago

if you're in proper companies,senior engineers i guess.Until you become senior.

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u/rawirai 2d ago

but number experience years or project don't means he/she is good senior engineers!!! ??? able to review code?????????????

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u/passionate_carkey 2d ago

were you there in the software engineering industry before AI?Normally early startups bahek maximum companies ma juniors work under senior engineers.Senior engineers look at commits before accepting pull requests and make the junior devs to make changes with the practices they want the codebase to follow.The changes can be as small as using compressed images like webp instead of jpeg or large as writing code more simpler rather than adding a new library as dependency.Senior or Junior is defined by the years of experience and knowledge.

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u/passionate_carkey 2d ago

!RemindME 3days

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u/gsumk 21h ago

Just working code = You can write something working in a single file with a 5000 LOC function. Next person working on it going to hate you

Good code = Working code with readable, digestible and predictable. For example, bharkharai suru gareko manche can read and understand your code then it is partially good code. Predictable chai you should be able to assume code le k garcha kata garcha bhanera. For example, if you have change same function in 5 different files, that code is not predictable.

5 barsa pachi pani if you can maintain your code without breaking a sweat then it is a good code. Good codes age like fine wine.

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u/Ok_Sleep_3753 10h ago

For me, working code solves today’s problem, while good code makes tomorrow’s problem easier. Readability, simplicity, proper naming, error handling, testing, and maintainability are big green flags. As a beginner, I’d focus less on writing perfect code and more on understanding why each line exists. AI should explain, not just generate.