We agreed that clearly named variables and short methods were important. We agreed to use assertions to make our code fail fast, not to optimize without measurements, and never to pass null references between objects. We agreed on how we should and shouldn’t handle exceptions, what to do about debugging code, and when and where to log events. These standards helped us far more than a consistent formatting style would have. Each had a concrete benefit. Perhaps that’s why we were able to agree on them when we couldn’t agree on formatting.
