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Good code is replaceable. Bad code is hard to get rid of. Some code sticks around because it's great at what it does. Some code sticks around because it works
by humanrebar 9y ago
Good code is replaceable. Bad code is hard to get rid of.
Some code sticks around because it's great at what it does. Some code sticks around because it works if you don't touch it and is impossible to delete due to various kinds of dependencies.
- crdoconnor 9y agoAll code is replaceable. It's bad APIs that are hard to get rid of. Most POSIX APIs, for instance, are confusing, obtuse and unnecessarily imperative but still good enough in spite of being 40 odd years old. There's way too much code that implements or calls them to justify making significant changes as this point.
- ex_amazon_sde 9y agoWe are talking years and decades, where "replacing" is applied to entire applications, not chunks of code. Especially in SOA, it can be cheaper to replace a poorly written service than trying to rewrite all of it over time.