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I can vouch that the approach suggested by OP works from my own experience. Incremental refactoring backed by confidence of safety-nets (tests and ability to fa

I can vouch that the approach suggested by OP works from my own experience. Incremental refactoring backed by confidence of safety-nets (tests and ability to fast-fail and revert) helped us stabilize a legacy codebase and then improve it. Depending on how bad the state of code is, adding new features may be even accelerated by minor refactoring. I would argue that is you do not have idea about how the codebase works adding new features without breaking anything else is going to be sheer luck most of the times.

jacquesm 9y ago
That's ok, we'll be more than happy to charge his boss $something terrible K/month per person to bail them out at some point :)
- sz4kerto 9y ago
  Nah, that's condescending, really. We might have different experience because of the codebases we've worked with; but I don't think there's a need for this kind of sarcasm.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    Well, I've been in this line of business for 30+ years, if you think there is some aspect of it that you structurally encounter that I don't then I'm all ears. Keep in mind that almost everybody that we end up cleaning up after has the exact attitude that you display and the only reason they feel that way is because they leave before the bill is due. I don't mind, it keeps me employed.
    - sz4kerto 9y ago
      Ad hominem and appeal to authority are not the best way to argue about technology, so let's leave this. (It feels really odd that someone tells me that he's making a living after cleaning up after people like me while so far I've thought I am paid for scaling small, poorly written systems up to enterprise levels, but well. I'd have appreciated more if we could have talked about specifics instead of "this works because I know it works").
      - Mz 9y ago
        Ad hominem and appeal to authority are not the best way to argue about technology, so let's leave this. It seems to be de riguer when dealing with some of the top ranked people on HN, who all too often seem to have long ago forgotten the rules that they apparently think no longer apply to them because they have more karma than god. My hat is off to you in how well you handled this.
        jacquesm 9y ago
        Michele, I know you don't like me and I know you feel the need to insert your $0.02 wherever you feel you can stick the knife in. What drives you to do this I have absolutely no clue, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Enjoy.
        Mz 9y ago
        I don't dislike you, I just dislike the degree to which you have zero respect for me. I think you are full well aware of the reasons I do the things I do. I don't look to stick anyone with a knife. It is shocking how comfortable people are with casually watching my suffering and doing nothing about it while acting like any push back I give against the systemic issues that help keep me trapped in dire poverty somehow makes me evil incarnate.
        jacquesm 9y ago
        I have zero respect for you because of how you treat others. Promising them the moon to only yank the rug out from under them when it matters. You know full well what I'm talking about here and that's something that I will not forgive you for. Your circumstances have nothing to do with any of this.
        Mz 9y ago
        Promising them the moon to only yank the rug out from under them when it matters. You know full well what I'm talking about here and that's something that I will not forgive you for. If I am guessing correctly as to what you are talking about, you have that backwards. That person abandoned me. I did not abandon them.

jacquesm 9y ago

That's ok, we'll be more than happy to charge his boss $something terrible K/month per person to bail them out at some point :)

sz4kerto 9y ago
Nah, that's condescending, really. We might have different experience because of the codebases we've worked with; but I don't think there's a need for this kind of sarcasm.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Well, I've been in this line of business for 30+ years, if you think there is some aspect of it that you structurally encounter that I don't then I'm all ears. Keep in mind that almost everybody that we end up cleaning up after has the exact attitude that you display and the only reason they feel that way is because they leave before the bill is due. I don't mind, it keeps me employed.
  - sz4kerto 9y ago
    Ad hominem and appeal to authority are not the best way to argue about technology, so let's leave this. (It feels really odd that someone tells me that he's making a living after cleaning up after people like me while so far I've thought I am paid for scaling small, poorly written systems up to enterprise levels, but well. I'd have appreciated more if we could have talked about specifics instead of "this works because I know it works").
    - Mz 9y ago
      Ad hominem and appeal to authority are not the best way to argue about technology, so let's leave this. It seems to be de riguer when dealing with some of the top ranked people on HN, who all too often seem to have long ago forgotten the rules that they apparently think no longer apply to them because they have more karma than god. My hat is off to you in how well you handled this.
      - jacquesm 9y ago
        Michele, I know you don't like me and I know you feel the need to insert your $0.02 wherever you feel you can stick the knife in. What drives you to do this I have absolutely no clue, but I'm sure you have your reasons. Enjoy.
        Mz 9y ago
        I don't dislike you, I just dislike the degree to which you have zero respect for me. I think you are full well aware of the reasons I do the things I do. I don't look to stick anyone with a knife. It is shocking how comfortable people are with casually watching my suffering and doing nothing about it while acting like any push back I give against the systemic issues that help keep me trapped in dire poverty somehow makes me evil incarnate.
        jacquesm 9y ago
        I have zero respect for you because of how you treat others. Promising them the moon to only yank the rug out from under them when it matters. You know full well what I'm talking about here and that's something that I will not forgive you for. Your circumstances have nothing to do with any of this.
        Mz 9y ago
        Promising them the moon to only yank the rug out from under them when it matters. You know full well what I'm talking about here and that's something that I will not forgive you for. If I am guessing correctly as to what you are talking about, you have that backwards. That person abandoned me. I did not abandon them.