Three Principles One Developer Uses to Judge Whether a Software Tool Is Good

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A software developer who builds tools professionally has distilled years of frustration into three criteria for evaluating any tool: it should be light, keep its promises, and stay quiet. The developer argues that unlike other engineering disciplines, software tends to grow heavier with each release rather than becoming leaner, wasting users' memory, battery, and time. On reliability, the concern is that tools dependent on company servers or subscription decisions can silently change or disappear, leaving users stranded without having changed anything themselves. The developer favors software that runs fully on a user's own machine, ensuring it continues to work regardless of the maker's business circumstances. Finally, tools that interrupt users with notifications or update prompts are seen as stealing attention — a resource the developer considers the most costly of the modern era.

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