Code as Poetry

The Moment of Revelation

That simple expression—5.days.ago—encapsulates everything Ruby stands for. It reads like English. It expresses intent without implementation details. It's code as communication, not just computation.

# Ruby: Poetry
5.days.ago
3.weeks.from_now
users.where(active: true).order(:name)
"hello world".titleize

# Other languages: Prose at best, legalese at worst
DateTime.now().minusDays(5)
new DateTime().plusWeeks(3)
users.filter(u => u.active === true).sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name))
"hello world".split(' ').map(w => w.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + w.slice(1)).join(' ')

Removing "Line Noise"

DHH used a specific phrase that stuck with me: "line noise." Those extra characters that programming languages require for the computer's benefit, not the human's:

• Semicolons — Does your brain really need them to understand where statements end?
• Excessive parentheses — print("hello") vs puts "hello"
• Type declarations — When the type is obvious from context
• Boilerplate — Getters, setters, constructors that add nothing

This is a radical stance. Most languages are designed to make parsing easy for compilers. Ruby is designed to make reading easy for humans. The computer does the extra work so you don't have to.

Beauty in Practice

1. Natural Language Conditionals

Ruby gives you multiple ways to express conditions, matching how you'd naturally think:

# All of these are valid Ruby:

# Traditional
if user.admin?
  grant_access
end

# Guard clause
return unless user.admin?

# Postfix (reads like English)
grant_access if user.admin?
deny_access unless user.authenticated?

# Ternary for simple cases
status = user.active? ? "Active" : "Inactive"

2. Blocks That Read Like Stories

# Ruby blocks tell a story
users.each do |user|
  send_welcome_email(user)
end

# Chainable, readable transformations
orders
  .where(status: "pending")
  .where("created_at > ?", 1.week.ago)
  .includes(:items)
  .order(total: :desc)
  .limit(10)

# File handling that cleans up after itself
File.open("data.txt") do |file|
  file.each_line { |line| process(line) }
end  # File automatically closed

3. Domain-Specific Languages

Ruby's flexibility lets you create mini-languages for specific domains:

# Rails routes read like configuration
Rails.application.routes.draw do
  resources :users do
    resources :posts
    member do
      post :follow
    end
  end

  root to: "home#index"
end

# RSpec tests read like specifications
describe User do
  it "validates presence of email" do
    user = User.new(email: nil)
    expect(user).not_to be_valid
  end

  it "sends welcome email after creation" do
    expect { User.create(valid_attributes) }
      .to have_enqueued_mail(UserMailer, :welcome)
  end
end

Why Beauty Matters

"But does it really matter if code is beautiful?" Absolutely. Here's why:

Code Is Read More Than Written

The ratio of reading to writing code is roughly 10:1. Beautiful code is readable code. Readable code is maintainable code. Maintainable code is valuable code.

Beauty Reveals Intent

When code is beautiful, it's usually because it clearly expresses what it does.user.active? tells you more than user.status == 1. Beauty and clarity are deeply connected.

Beauty Motivates

Developers who work with beautiful code take more pride in their work. They're more likely to maintain standards, refactor thoughtfully, and care about the codebase. Ugly code breeds uglier code.

Pursuing Beauty in Your Code

You don't need Ruby to write beautiful code. Here are principles that apply anywhere:

1. Name Things Well

processData() tells you nothing. calculateMonthlyRevenue()tells a story. Spend time on names—they're the biggest lever for readability.

2. Embrace Whitespace

Dense code isn't clever—it's hostile. Group related lines. Separate concepts with blank lines. Let your code breathe.

3. Prefer Clarity Over Cleverness

That one-liner regex might work, but can a junior developer understand it? Beauty isn't about showing off—it's about clear communication.

4. Refactor Toward Beauty

After code works, ask: "Is this beautiful?" If not, refactor. Extract methods with meaningful names. Remove duplication. Simplify conditionals. Make it sing.

The Art of Programming

DHH's love for Ruby isn't just about productivity or features—it's about experiencing programming as an art form. When he writes 5.days.ago, he's not just calculating a date. He's expressing an idea in its purest form.

Not every language can be Ruby. Not every codebase can be poetry. But every developer can choose to care about beauty. To refactor that ugly function. To find the elegant solution. To write code that future readers will appreciate.