IMO, code is elegant if all of these are true:

• The code does what it is supposed to do
• The code looks like it does what it does
• The code is readable and follows a style that I like
• The code is efficient
• The code is pure (re-usable)

If code is efficient but unreadable, it is no longer elegant. Likewise, code that does what it should do, but looks like it would do something else, is inelegant. I like code styled like this.

Please note that code does not have to be elegant in order to be useful or entertaining.

Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }