The Psychology of Computer Programming — Chapter 02 Memory: What Makes a Good Program?

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Reading Span: PDF pages 43-56
Source Text: /library/The Psychology of Computer Programming/Chapter-02-What-Makes-a-Good-Program/Chapter-02-source-text.md (the chapter's own words; read instead of the PDF)
Full Record: /library/The Psychology of Computer Programming/Chapter-02-What-Makes-a-Good-Program/Chapter-02-chapter-notes.md (read only if needed)
Last Updated: 2026-10-23

Carried-in Context (from earlier chapters)

Code is a human-created text whose form cannot be explained by behavior alone.
Ask “Why is this piece here?” and test five possible influences: machine, language, programmer, history, and specification.
Apparently poor code may preserve a once-rational workaround; recover context before judging it.
Specifications and programs can evolve together as developer and client learn what is actually needed.
The reader sees programmer limitation as a major modern risk but will corroborate that judgment with comments, behavior, history, tests, requirements, and platform evidence.

Core Question: Can a program be judged “good” apart from its situation, or must quality be evaluated through competing requirements and stakeholder priorities?
Watch-For Themes: What “working” means; correctness for one versus many users; delivery time and predictability; adaptability versus specialization; ambiguous efficiency measures; who receives value and who bears cost.
Core Thesis: Pending
Key Concepts: Pending
Notable Arguments / Evidence Limits: Pending
Action Item: Pending

Pending Questions: None
Reader's Answers (paraphrase): None for this chapter
Misconceptions / Feedback Given: None for this chapter
Personal Threads: Continue testing programmer limitation against historical context rather than assuming it.

How should program quality be judged when different contexts reward different tradeoffs?
Watch for criteria that appear desirable alone but become contradictory when demanded together.