Is your code Solid Enough?

As a software engineer, whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned professional, you've likely encountered the acronym SOLID. But even if it’s new to you, it’s not too late to discover its transformative power.

SOLID was coined by Robert C. Martin to describe five essential object-oriented design principles. These principles pave a clear path for developing software that is extensible and maintainable, preventing code from spiraling into an irrecoverable mess. When applied correctly, they shape your codebase into something that could be called art — beautiful, efficient, and long-lasting.

In this blog, I’m kicking off a five-part series where we’ll explore each of these principles in depth. Together, we’ll unpack how SOLID can turn theory into action, transforming the way you write and think about code.

What’s SOLID?

For those unfamiliar, SOLID stands for:

• S: Single Responsibility Principle
• O: Open/Closed Principle
• L: Liskov Substitution Principle
• I: Interface Segregation Principle
• D: Dependency Inversion Principle

These principles help you structure your code in a way that’s elegant and future-proof. They ensure your software remains adaptable, avoiding the pitfalls of rigid and unmaintainable systems.

How the SOLID Principles improved my code quality?

So when I started off as a software engineer, I always wanted to write this clean, elegant, and visually appealing code. Something that one could call sight for sore eyes. And though I didn’t know these principles per se, the intention was always these to achieve the same.

Later, as I decided to spend some time on understanding these principles, I realized I was inadvertently following many of them — whether due to my own common sense or simply because of how existing codebases were structured. However, I still identified gaps that needed filling. Once I learned the SOLID principles, my appreciation for the code I was working with deepened significantly.

This newfound understanding also brought to light some critiques for poorly written code — both by my peers and by myself. But if you can’t acknowledge your past mistakes, how can you expect to grow?

Since then, I’ve made a conscious effort to incorporate these principles into my work. Trust me, once you grasp what each principle offers, applying them becomes second nature.

As it’s popularly said:

"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist." – Pablo Picasso

Having a solid grasp of these principles not only aids in quickly adopting them but also allows you to break conventions when appropriate.

Why SOLID matters?

Once you enter into the world of Software Engineering, you will realize how working with large existing codebases brings the challenges of its own. The importance of following the coding standards, maintaining the existing structure, and introducing new pieces without breaking existing ones. SOLID principles provide you a set of guidelines to prevent your code from becoming an untangleable web of dependencies and make writing software a richer experience.

What’s next?

In this series, I’ll show you how to apply each of these principles in real-world scenarios. We’ll explore the intricacies, benefits, and practical examples so you can experience the real-world advantages of each principle without having to memorize them.

I’m excited to share these principles in my own words, and I hope you learn something new and appreciate the elegance they bring to software design.

Next up, we’ll dive into the Single Responsibility Principle — often considered the simplest, yet the most crucial of them all. You’ll learn why keeping your classes focused on a single job is the key to building maintainable software. Stay tuned for it!

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