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> The real value of good code is way, way less than developers would like to believe Soooo much this. But it's also important to note the difference between c

by braveo 10y ago

> The real value of good code is way, way less than developers would like to believe Soooo much this. But it's also important to note the difference between code and system design. The vast majority of code that's written is solving problems where system design doesn't tend to make a huge amount of difference. It's only when you get to a certain scale and/or in certain domains that the system design starts to matter, and even there, the code itself is of little import.

collyw 10y ago
Then with shit code and even more for shit system design you just spend far longer maintaining the technical debt rather than adding genuine value. Every feature takes 4 times longer to implement because of it. It costs more, and ships later. And there are always bugs to fix. Its obvious to anyone capable of writing decent code that it does have value.
- vinceguidry 10y ago
  > Its obvious to anyone capable of writing decent code that it does have value. Business users are the ones that have to make the value decisions, and they can't write any code, much less decent code.
  - flukus 10y ago
    And they are oblivious to the costs incurred by shit code.
- braveo 10y ago
  "shit code" is in the vast minority of code written, most of it ranges from merely crappy to so beautiful you'd auction off your own mother just to bask in its presence a little longer The reason architecture starts mattering is because you can do things like put that "shit code" behind an interface/microservice/whathaveyou and then the rest of the system just doesn't care. This is why code itself isn't particularly valuable in the way you seem to be implying. It isn't without value, but while software is valuable, it's rare for specific code to be where that value is at.
  - flukus 10y ago
    Either you're luckier than me or we have a different definitions of shit, but I'd agree that the vast majority of code written is shit.

by braveo 10y ago

collyw 10y ago

Then with shit code and even more for shit system design you just spend far longer maintaining the technical debt rather than adding genuine value. Every feature takes 4 times longer to implement because of it. It costs more, and ships later. And there are always bugs to fix. Its obvious to anyone capable of writing decent code that it does have value.

vinceguidry 10y ago
> Its obvious to anyone capable of writing decent code that it does have value. Business users are the ones that have to make the value decisions, and they can't write any code, much less decent code.
- flukus 10y ago
  And they are oblivious to the costs incurred by shit code.
braveo 10y ago
"shit code" is in the vast minority of code written, most of it ranges from merely crappy to so beautiful you'd auction off your own mother just to bask in its presence a little longer The reason architecture starts mattering is because you can do things like put that "shit code" behind an interface/microservice/whathaveyou and then the rest of the system just doesn't care. This is why code itself isn't particularly valuable in the way you seem to be implying. It isn't without value, but while software is valuable, it's rare for specific code to be where that value is at.
- flukus 10y ago
  Either you're luckier than me or we have a different definitions of shit, but I'd agree that the vast majority of code written is shit.