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An indirection should have a meaning

In concert with Tip No. 9, giving clear, logical definition to indirections is essential to their value. This meaning can be something as simple as "putting commonly used code in a single method." If you add levels of indirection (abstraction, encapsulation, etc.) that don't have meaning, it can be as bad as not having adequate indirection at all.

Bruce Eckel is a frequent author and lecturer on software development practices and was a founding member of the ANSI/ISO C++ committee. He provides public and private seminars and design consulting in C++ and Java. Reach him at Bruce@EckelObjects.com.

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Elegance always pays off	Use bare bones methodology
First make it work, then make it fast	Automate everything
Remember the "divide and conquer" principle	Write test code early
Separate the class creator from the class user (client programmer)	Get abstract
Name classes intelligently	An indirection should have a meaning