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A curated list of falsehoods programmers believe in: articles collecting assumptions that sound obviously true but break on real-world edge cases, like believing a valid email address has exactly one @ character.
A curated list of falsehoods programmers believe in: articles collecting assumptions that sound obviously true but break on real-world edge cases, like believing a valid email address has exactly one @ character.Is it a tool I install, or just something I read?Pure reading material: one README split into 22 themed sections — dates, emails, names, Unicode, geography, prices, networks, typography, video games — where every entry is an annotated link to an external article.
Pure reading material: one README split into 22 themed sections — dates, emails, names, Unicode, geography, prices, networks, typography, video games — where every entry is an annotated link to an external article.Where should a beginner start?With the Meta section: 'Falsehoods Programmers Believe' is listed as a brief overview and quick introduction to the whole genre, before diving into specific domains like time or emails.
With the Meta section: 'Falsehoods Programmers Believe' is listed as a brief overview and quick introduction to the whole genre, before diving into specific domains like time or emails.Does the list explain each topic in depth, or do I have to follow the links?It points rather than teaches: each entry is a one-line note on what the linked article covers, and the comprehensive lists of false beliefs live in those articles, not in the README itself.
It points rather than teaches: each entry is a one-line note on what the linked article covers, and the comprehensive lists of false beliefs live in those articles, not in the README itself.Can you give me an example of one of these falsehoods?The intro's own example: 'a valid email address has exactly one @ character' — in reality emails can contain multiple @ characters, so a validator built on that rule rejects working addresses. Other entries: fingerprints are not unique, and storing everything in UTC is not a silver bullet.
The intro's own example: 'a valid email address has exactly one @ character' — in reality emails can contain multiple @ characters, so a validator built on that rule rejects working addresses. Other entries: fingerprints are not unique, and storing everything in UTC is not a silver bullet.Do these mistakes cause real damage, or are they just theoretical?Real damage: the list links write-ups like $250 internal coupons turning into $25,000 of ad credit at Google Ads, the US Labor Department overcollecting $26,000 from calendar accounting, and XSS attacks staged through special characters in UK company names.
Real damage: the list links write-ups like $250 internal coupons turning into $25,000 of ad credit at Google Ads, the US Labor Department overcollecting $26,000 from calendar accounting, and XSS attacks staged through special characters in UK company names.Which article started the whole falsehoods genre?By the list's own account, 'Falsehoods about Names' is the article that started it all. It sits at the top of the Human Identity section, next to a revisited version with detailed examples.
By the list's own account, 'Falsehoods about Names' is the article that started it all. It sits at the top of the Human Identity section, next to a revisited version with detailed examples.Can I reuse or republish this list in my own docs?Yes — the repository is licensed CC0-1.0, a public-domain dedication, so you can copy, remix and republish the collection without asking permission.
Yes — the repository is licensed CC0-1.0, a public-domain dedication, so you can copy, remix and republish the collection without asking permission.What are similar projects?go-patterns, awesome-modern-cpp, every-programmer-should-know, awesome-competitive-programming, software-architecture-books, awesome-guidelines, hacker-laws, awesome-dotfiles
go-patterns, awesome-modern-cpp, every-programmer-should-know, awesome-competitive-programming, software-architecture-books, awesome-guidelines, hacker-laws, awesome-dotfilesWhich topics is it in?time, phone-number, date, identity, unicode, internationalization, english, typography, best-practices, i18n, awesome, reference
time, phone-number, date, identity, unicode, internationalization, english, typography, best-practices, i18n, awesome, reference