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Lines of code is a byproduct, not the goal.

Code is an artifact, undesired debris.

The fewer lines, the better.



Well, like everything it's probably a balance to strike. Otherwise you may end up with highly golfed IOCCC-style code in production, which I would definitely not recommend.


I've seen advent of code one-liners, and sometimes more lines is better than a one-liner.


Yes, my thinking here isn't about the semantics of code, whether it is written in dense or terse form, but about the more meta level - code itself is something we write to achieve some goal, it shouldn't be the goal by itself. As an example, as a company is audited for their valuation, it is not the code amount itself that is valuable. In many ways it can be seen as a burden, as you'll need to maintain code over time.




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