Don't Repeat Yourself (DRY) Principle Explained

What is DRY Principle?

The DRY principle states that every piece of knowledge must have a single, unambiguous, authoritative representation within a system. It encourages the avoidance of duplication, such as in logic, rules, or user interfaces.

Why is DRY Important?

1. **Maintainability**: By avoiding duplication, code becomes easier to maintain. If a change is needed, it only needs to be made in one place.

2. **Readability**: DRY code is generally easier to read and understand, as there are fewer redundant pieces to sift through.

3. **Scalability**: As a project grows, the risk of inconsistencies and bugs increases with duplicated code. DRY code reduces this risk.

Real-life Examples and Use Cases

1. **Database Operations**: Rather than repeating database connection code in multiple places, create a centralized function or class for handling database operations.

2. **User Interface**: If multiple components in a user interface share similar functionality or appearance, extract common code into reusable components or functions.

3. **Business Logic**: When implementing business rules or algorithms, ensure they are encapsulated in functions or classes that can be reused across the application.

4. **Configuration**: Instead of hardcoding configuration settings throughout the codebase, store them centrally and access them as needed.