Dev Brains Busted: Only 7 Mental Slots for Code – Ditch Kitchen Sink Functions or Future You Will Ghost the Repo

Developers often struggle to maintain their own code due to human cognitive limitations, specifically the working memory "buffer" of five to seven items, known as the Cognitive Budget. When writing complex functions, exceeding this budget can lead to missed bugs and difficulties in understanding the code. A common issue is the "Kitchen Sink" function, where multiple tasks are performed in one pass, resulting in a variable soup that is hard to track. To address this, developers can refactor their code to respect the Cognitive Budget by quarantining complexity into named functions, breaking down logic into concepts, and using declarative coding. For example, a function to get active emails can be refactored from a complex, imperative implementation to a simpler, declarative one, reducing the mental load from six items to two. This approach, outlined in "The Professional Junior: Writing Code that Matters" handbook, improves code maintainability and readability, making it easier for developers to work with their own code and collaborate with others.