Now these are the laws of good Software,
Unwritten and varied they be;
And he who is wise will observe them,
When writing code in script or in C.

As naught may outwit the compiler,
So it is with syntax and its grip,
For the core of programming is syntax,
And the bonds of syntax give the pip.

Take heed what ye pass as directives,
Be your code written simply and plain,
Lest preprocessors choke on the input,
And so ye shall write it again.

If ye labor from morn until even',
And meet with reproof for your toil,
'Tis well that your editor idle;
The compiler--its trousers show soil.

On the strength of all lines in the function,
Dependeth successful return.
Who knows when some misguided caller,
Correct sizing of bufs it will spurn?

When a hacker who's tired returneth,
With some bugs in his code glaring mean;
We debugger new codes for good reason,
Few first passes at coding are clean!
So shall thou, and lest perchance thou grow mired,
In the uttermost parts of the C;
Pray your editor balances braces,
As much and as oft as may be.

Ignore not good documentation
But rather to write it aspire;
Though elder hacks may just use the source
There cometh, perchance, a new hire!

[Inspired by Rear Admiral Ronald A. Hopwood's (C.B., Royal Navy) 1896 masterpiece of naval wisdom. Kipling, please forgive us both.]