"Don't repeat yourself" (DRY) is a software development principle that advocates for reducing repetition and redundancy in code. The idea is that if you have duplicate code or logic in your program, you increase the risk of errors and make it harder to maintain and update your code.
The DRY principle suggests that you should create reusable code components that can be called multiple times from different parts of your program. This can be achieved through various techniques, such as modularization, inheritance, and functional programming. By avoiding duplication, you can simplify your code, reduce its size, and make it more readable and maintainable.
DRY is closely related to other software engineering principles, such as "Single Responsibility Principle" (SRP) and "Separation of Concerns" (SoC). SRP advocates for each module or class to have a single, well-defined responsibility, while SoC suggests that different parts of a program should have distinct and independent responsibilities. By following these principles, you can create more modular, reusable, and extensible code that is easier to test and refactor.
Overall, the DRY principle encourages programmers to think about the big picture of their program and how to create efficient, scalable, and maintainable code that can adapt to changing requirements and environments.